[Restructuring of the endocrine function of the kidney in hypertension]

The author studied the renin-angiotensin, and kallikrein-kinin systems and renal prostaglandins in patients with different stages of hypertension. The activity of plasma renin and the content to PG in the peripheral blood and the blood from the renal veins, PGE2 excretion, PGG2 and kallikrein in the urine have been studied. Overloads have been used, directed at the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. It is concluded that a functional rearrangement of the endocrine renal function exists in patients with the hypertensive disease, which is related to the development of defects in the control of one series of the humoral systems and to the compensatory changes in the others. The increase of extracellular volume is the reason of the functional endocrine changes in the kidney, which is shown by the results of studies after salt overloads.