Plasma Vasopressin Variation and Renin Activity in Normal Active Humans

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Abstract
Plasma concentrations of vasopressin [VP] and plasma renin activity were measured every 30 min for 24 h in 5 normal active humans, in 1 normal woman confined to bed (except for brief periods up to the bathroom), in 2 active patients with primary aldosteronism and in 1 patient with low-renin hypertension. Plasma VP varied markedly over the day and night in a pattern suggesting episodic secretion of the hormone in the normal subjects. Assumption of upright posture was accompanied by a rise in plasma levels from undetectable to 20-50 pg/ml. Episodic secretion, however, also occurred during bed rest and sleep. In contrast, patients with primary aldosteronism and low-renin hypertension had plasma VP levels considerably lower than the normals and their profiles of plasma concentration lacked the peaks seen in normals. In the normals, although VP and renin secretion often coincided, only 2 of 6 studies showed a significant correlation between the plasma levels of the 2 hormones. VP is evidently secreted periodically in normal humans, upright posture is an important modulator of secretory activity and the renin-angiotensin system may or may not influence the pattern of secretion. The necessity of recumbency is underlined in establishing the existence of a circadian rhythm of plasma VP levels.

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