LONDON, August 17 (SPIS MedWire)The role of leptin in the pathogenesis of arterial hypertension has been supported by several recent studies. Adamczak and colleagues at the Silesian University School of Medicine, Poland, report their finding of a significant relationship between both leptinemia and plasma renin activity (PRA) in females with essential hypertension (EH). The team examined 43 patients with EH (23 females, mean age 39.0±1.8 years, mean BMI 26.8±0.6 kg/m²) who had stopped taking antihypertensive medication seven days before the study, and 32 healthy controls. Plasma leptin levels were measured after consumption of a 100-120 nmol/day Na diet; PRA was measured twice, after sodium intake and after sodium restriction. In the EH group the mean plasma leptin concentration was nonsignificantly higher than in the control group (14.0±2.0 vs 10.8±1.5 ng/ml). However, when the analysis was restricted to females there was a significant positive correlation between leptin level and PRA after administration of the high sodium diet. Multiple regression analysis found that, in all subjects studied, plasma leptin concentration was significantly related to sex, BMI and arterial blood pressure. The relationship between leptin levels and arterial blood pressure was particularly strong in women, leading the authors to conclude that "participation of both PRA and leptin in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension seems to be likely."