ABSTRACT
The plasma levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) were determined with radioimmunoassay in 23 cases of advanced schistosomiasis, 16 cases of chronic schistosomiasis and 16 normal subjects. The results were: the plasma ANP level in advanced schistosomiasis (286.6 +/- 13.0 ng/L) was significantly higher than that in of chronic schistosomiasis (196.7 +/- 17.3 ng/L) and normal controls (157.2 +/- 16.0 ng/L) (P < 0.01 respectively). Among advanced schistosomiasis, the plasma ANP level in 12 cases with ascites (256.5 +/- 16.8 ng/L) was significantly lower than that in 11 cases with splenomegaly but without ascites (320.5 +/- 20.0 ng/L) (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the levels in chronic schistosomiasis and normal control (P > 0.05), the results suggested that ANP played a role in maintaining homeostasis of sodium and fluid in advanced schistosomiasis.
