文本框: CORRELATION BETWEEN PLASMA ENDOTHELIN AND CALCITONIN GENE RELATED PEPTIDE AND PARTIAL PRESSURE OF ARTERIAL OXYGEN IN INFANTS WITH ACUTE CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE ASSOCIATED WITH SEVER PNEUMONIA 
Shang YX, Liou CF, Yuan Z, Zhao SQ, et al 
Department of Pediatrics, the Second Clinical Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China

Objective: Endothelin (ET) is a potent vasoconstrictor to pulmonary arteries. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a potent vasodilator peptide, including pulmonary arteries. It was found that CGRP had the antagonistic effect on ET and hypoxia can induces ET gene expression in animals. So our study is to evaluate the effect of ET and explore the correlation between plasma ET with CGRP and ET with partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) in infants with acute congestive heart failure associated with severe pneumonia.
Methods: 26 patients (ages 1.5 to 11 months) with acute congestive heart failure associated with severe pneumonia were studied. The plasma ET and CGRP levels and PaO2 were dynamicly measured in the critical stage of heart failure and their convalescence. Using specific radio-immuno-assay (RIA), ET and CGRP were measured in plasma. The normal control group (n=16) and mild bronchopneumonia group (n=20) were studied just the same.   
Results: The plasma ET level increased significantly (P<0.01) but plasma CGRP level and PaO2 decreased significantly (P<0.01) in the critical stage  of heart failure (n=26, ET 94.87±27.88 (ng/L); CGRP 7.25±3.21 (ng/L);PaO210.48±0.52 (Kpa) compared with its convalescence group (n = 26, ET 70.26±18.23; CGRP 17.22±4.52;PaO212.74±0.38), mild bronchopneumonia group(n = 20 ,ET 71.26±16.35; CGRP 16.34±5.93;PaO212.36±0.18)and normal control group(n = 15, ET 64.28±12.4; CGRP 17.85±5.2;PaO212.86±0.18). No significant difference (P>0.05) in plasma ET, CGRP levels and PaO2 was observed among those groups in convalescence, mild bronchopneumonia, and normal control. There was a significantly negative correlation between plasma ET and CGRP levels (r = -0.65, P<0.01) in the critical stage of heart failure and also the same correlation between plasma ET and PaO2 (r = -0.66, P<0.01). 
Conclusion: The finding suggest that the increase of plasma ET level and decreased of plasma CGRP may be play an important role in the pathogenesis of infants with acute congestive heart failure associated with severe pneumonia. The causes of plasma ET level increased probably were related to the decrease of plasma CGRP level and the decrease of PaO2.
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