title: Target-organ damage in adolescent hypertension. Analysis of potential influencing factors, especially nitric oxide and endothelin-1.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the role of the nitric oxide-endothelin imbalance in the development of target-organ damages (carotid intima-media thickness and left ventricular mass index) in adolescent hypertension.
  
  
  METHODS
  125 adolescents--67 hypertensive and 58 normotensive--underwent routine anthropology (height, weight) and blood pressure measurements, and laboratory (glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels) testing as well as sampling blood for determination of the plasma concentrations of nitric oxide (NOx) and endothelin-1 (ET-1), followed by measurement of the carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Plasma concentration of NOx was significantly lower (27.7+/-13.7 vs. 35.8+/-7.0 micromol/l, respectively, p<0.001) and ET-1 was higher (3.11+/-3.9 vs. 1.09+/-1.07 fmol/ml, respectively, p<0.001) in hypertensive adolescents than that of controls. NOx negatively, endothelin positively correlated with blood pressure values, especially with systolic BP. An inverse relationship has been found between NOx and ET-1 concentrations (r=-0.29, p<0.003). In this adolescent population body weight, systolic blood pressure and plasma ET-1 were the most important factors influencing IMT, whereas LVMI correlated with height and weight and systolic BP of the teenagers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NO/endothelin imbalance seems to play a role in the development of hypertension and target-organ damages in adolescence. Further studies are encouraged in order to clarify the pathophysiological role of NO/endothelin imbalance in adolescent hypertension.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Medical and Health Science Centre, Hungary.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Katona
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Settakis
authors.forename: Zsuzsa
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Varga
authors.forename: György
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Paragh
authors.forename: Dániel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bereczki
authors.forename: Béla
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fülesdi
authors.forename: Dénes
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Páll
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001786:Blood Glucose; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000097:blood*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D019332:Endothelin-1; D014280:Triglycerides; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D002784:Cholesterol