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Plasma progesterone, aldosterone and renin activity were measured simultaneously in seven women during normal pregnancy. Beginning at the 2nd trimester and until approximately 4 weeks before delivery there was a constant increase in plasma progesterone concentration. There was a significant correlation between weight gain and duration of pregnancy and between weight gain and plasma progesterone concentration. There was also an increase in plasma aldosterone concentration although this was less consistent than that of progesterone. And there was a significant correlation between plasma progesterone and aldosterone concentrations and between the progesterone/aldosterone ratio and duration of pregnancy and weight gain.

Tonin, an enzyme present in rat submaxillary gland, converts angiotensin I to angiotensin II and is able to form angiotensin II directly from renin substrates. This enzyme was previously shown to be different from renin, tissue isorenins, and angiotensin I converting enzyme. The specific activity of tonin in rat submaxillary gland increases with the age of the animal and is much higher in male than in female rats; this sex difference is apparent from 60 to 70 days of age. There is a sharp drop of tonin activity in hypophysectomized animals, whereas adrenalectomy, thyroidectomy, and gonadectomy have have little effect. The marked increase in tonin activity was observed in animals bearing MtT-F4 transplantable tumors known to produce ACTH, prolactin, and growth hormone. Tonin specific activity in hypophysectomized male rats is restored to control levels by combined treatment with growth hormone and testosterone. Prolactin alone or in combination with testosterone, as well as transplanted pituitaries, has no effect in hypophysectomized animals. There is a significant specific binding of 125I-labeled growth hormone to isolated membranes of rat submaxillary gland.

Excerpt Fifteen to 25% of patients with gonadal dysgenesis have "essential" hypertension. The deficiency of 17-hydroxylation is another rare form of hypertension associated with hypergonadotropic h...

Patients with benign essential hypertension in the early uncomplicated stage show several deviations from normal in their renal and adrenal hormonal systems. Levels of plasma aldosterone a...

Excerpt Recent studies from this laboratory have shown (1) an excessive fluctuation of daily urinary aldosterone in hypertensive patients, (2) a significant decrease (p < 0.001) in mean urinary pre...