[Changes in dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase activity during hypertension and its complications]

Using the fluorimetric method, the activity of dipeptidyl-carboxypeptidase (DCP) was studied in 85 patients suffering from essential hypertension. It was ascertained that the DCP activity in the blood serum of such patients was significantly higher than in normal subjects. The highest activity of the enzyme was observed in cases where essential hypertension was aggravated by chronic heart failure or an acute impairment of the cerebral circulation. Inflammatory processes in hypertensive patients were associated with a considerable fall in the serum enzyme activity.