Plasma levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide and endothelin in patients with hepatopulmonary syndrome / 中华消化杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective It has been known that hepatopulmonary syndrome(HPS) is related to the imbalance between vasoconstrictors and vasodilators. The aim of the study is to examine the levels of plasma calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) and endothelin(ET) in patients with HPS for exploring their roles in HPS formation. Methods The levels of CGRP and ET were measured by radioimmunoassay in 16 cases of HPS, 30 cases of liver cirrhosis without HPS and 15 normal controls. Results The levels of plasma CGRP ((65?15)pg/ml) and ET((78?21)pg/ml) in 16 cases of HPS were significantly higher than those in liver cirrhosis (CGRP (51?15) pg/ml, ET (60?14) pg/ml) and in healthy controls (CGRP (32?12) pg/ml, ET (36?11) pg/ml) ( P 0.05). Conclusions The increase of plasma CGRP and ET is closely associated with the intrapulmonar vascular dilation of HPS and hypoxemia. The levels of plasma CGRP and ET in liver cirrhosis were significantly higher than those in healthy controls ( P