Hormone replacement therapy causes a decrease in hepatocyte growth factor in hypertensive women.
OBJECTIVE
Serum hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is associated with blood pressure. We investigated whether the serum HGF level differs between hypertensive and normotensive postmenopausal women (PMW) and whether hormone replacement therapy (HRT) alters the serum HGF level and blood pressure in hypertensive and normotensive PMW.


METHODS
Prospective observational study.


METHODS
A total of 33 PMW with mild to moderate essential hypertension controlled by antihypertensive treatment (mean age, 57 +/- 6 years) and 23 normotensive PMW (mean age, 57 +/- 7 years) received continuous HRT (0.625 mg of conjugated equine estrogen combined with 2.5 mg of medroxyprogesterone acetate) once a day orally for 12 months, and we measured serum HGF levels and blood pressure before and 12 months after the start of HRT.


RESULTS
The baseline serum HGF level was significantly higher in hypertensive PMW than in normotensive PMW. HRT significantly decreased the serum HGF level in hypertensive subjects, from 2.85 +/- 0.64 pmol/l to 2.49 +/- 0.65 pmol/l (P < 0.001), but not in normotensive subjects. HRT did not change blood pressure in either group.


CONCLUSIONS
Serum HGF level before the start of HRT was higher in the hypertensive PMW than in the normotensive PMW. Furthermore, HRT decreases serum HGF without decreasing blood pressure in hypertensive PMW. The HRT-induced decrease in serum HGF was greater in hypertensive PMW than in normotensive PMW, and the decrease was independent of blood pressure changes.
Tamama
Kenichi
K
The Department of Laboratory Medicine, Gunma University School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan.
Sumino
Hiroyuki
H
Ichikawa
Shuichi
S
Kanda
Tsugiyasu
T
Kotajima
Nobuo
N
Fukumura
Yukihito
Y
Kurabayashi
Masahiko
M
Murakami
Masami
M
D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D004967:Estrogens / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D017258:Medroxyprogesterone Acetate / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D004967:Estrogens; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor; D017258:Medroxyprogesterone Acetate