title: Association of blood pressure and antihypertensive drugs with diurnal alpha-amylase activity.
abstract: Salivary α-amylase (sAA) has been proposed as a marker of autonomic activity, but its association with blood pressure and antihypertensive drugs (AD) is unknown. Basal sAA rhythm was assessed immediately after awakening, 30 min after awakening, 11 am, 3 pm, and 8 pm in 78 older adults. Profiles differed significantly between men and women, with men lacking the typical decrease of sAA in the morning and showing more pronounced alterations throughout the day. A higher total output of sAA was found in individuals not using AD or being hypertensive, and especially pronounced in hypertensive individuals not using AD. These data indicates a difference between normotensives and hypertensives and an association of AD with characteristics of diurnal amylase. Findings highlight the usefulness of sAA as an index of autonomic imbalance in disease, and indicate sAA as a promising candidate to non-invasively study therapeutic treatment effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany; Department of Psychology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35032 Marburg, Germany. jana.strahler@uni-marburg.de
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Strahler
authors.forename: Clemens
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kirschbaum
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rohleder
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D000516:alpha-Amylases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D000516:alpha-Amylases