Microalbuminuria and endothelial dysfunction in hypertensive patients with and without cerebral lacunar infarctions

ABSTRACT

This study included 14 nondiabetic persons with untreated essential hypertension and cerebral lacunar infarctions detected by MRI or CT brain scan, 12 age and sex matched untreated nondiabetic hypertensive patients without infarction and 11 normal controls. Urinary albumin excretion [UAE] was measured photometrically and von Willebrand factor [vWF] as a known marker of endothelial dysfunction was estimated by a platelet aggregation method. UAE was found to be significantly higher in hypertensives with lacunar infarctions compared with those without and to normal control. VWF concentrations were found to be significantly higher in patients with lacunar infarctions compared with those without and with the normal control, but there was no significant difference between its level in hypertensives without lacunae and the normal controls. There was a significant positive linear correlation between vWF and UAE values in hypertensive patients with lacunar infarctions. Increased systolic blood pressure and low HDL correlated with both UAE and vWF in patients with lacunar infarctions