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Science 8 February 1974:
Vol. 183. no. 4124, pp. 523 - 525
DOI: 10.1126/science.183.4124.523
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Articles

Plasma Dopamine beta-Hydroxylase: A Possible Aid in the Study and Evaluation of Hypertension

Saul M. Schanberg 1, Richard A. Stone 1, Norman Kirshner 1, J. Caulie Gunnells 1, and Roscoe R. Robinson 1

1 Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710

The activity of dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) in plasma ranged from 2 to 100 units per liter of plasma in 82 apparently healthy subjects (ages 22 to 35 years). A nonnormal pattern of distribution was evident: 62 subjects had values below 35 units (18 ± 1), while 13 of the remaining 20 subjects had values above 60 units (80 ± 5). Those with low DBH activity had lower values for urinary catecholamine excretion (31 ± 3 micrograms), with normal and stable blood pressure; those with high DBH activity had higher values for urinary catecholamine excretion (72 ± 6 micrograms), with greater lability of arterial blood pressure. The DBH activity was significantly elevated in patients with labile (74 ± 2 mm-Hg) or fixed (57 ± 2 mm-Hg) essential hypertension. The results indicate that plasma DBH activity is low and that it falls within a narrow range in young adults with normal and stable blood pressure.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Platelet Monoamine Oxidase and Serum Dopamine-{beta}-Hydroxylase Activity in Chronic Alcoholics.
J. L. Sullivan, C. N. Stanfield, S. Schanberg, and J. Cavenar (1978)
Arch Gen Psychiatry 35, 1209-1212
   Abstract »    PDF »
Dopamine- -Hydroxylase: Basic and Clinical Studies.
I. J. KOPIN, S. KAUFMAN, H. VIVEROS, D. JACOBOWITZ, C. R. LAKE, M. G. ZIEGLER, W. LOVENBERG, and F. K. GOODWIN (1976)
Ann Intern Med 85, 211-223
   Abstract »    PDF »
Vascular and brain dopamine beta-hydroxylase activity in young spontaneously hypertensive rats.
T Nagatsu, K Ikuta, Y Numata, T Kato, and M Sano (1976)
Science 191, 290-291
   Abstract »    PDF »


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