Effect of Sar¹-ala⁸-angiotensin II on blood pressure and renin in Bartter's syndrome, before and after treatment with prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors

Abstract

Three patients suffering from Bartter's syndrome were studied before and after 5 days of treatment with the prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors, aspirin and indomethacin. Saralasin was given by intravenous infusion in increasing doses from 0.6 to 42 μg/minkg/BW. During saralasin infusion a blood pressure reduction was observed in all patients. Aspirin treatment did not affect this response and nor did it affect other manifestations of the syndrome. Indomethacin treatment changed the blood pressure response to saralasin in such a way that the blood pressure was increased in one patient and was unchanged in the other. Indomethacin also tended to normalize other features of Bartter's syndrome, such as the hyperreninaemia and angiotensin unresponsiveness, but did not affect the hypokalaemia. The saralasin effect on blood pressure is thus evidently inversely related to the prevailing activity of the renin-angiotensin system in this condition also, and the patients obviously depended on the renin-angiotensin system to maintain their blood pressure. Our findings, together with data in the literature, indicate that angiotensin unresponsiveness of the vascular bed is not a primary feature in Bartter's syndrome. Chloride loss is currently thought to be the basic abnormality and this may link the Bartter's syndrome with other diseased states characterized by chloride loss, such as the syndrome of habitual vomiting and chronic treatment with loop diuretics.

Key Words:

• renin-angiotensin system
• angiotensin responsiveness
• indomethacin
• aspirin
• hypokalemia