ENDOTHELIN-1 IN CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC-RENAL-FAILURE

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) was measured after extraction from plasma of norma l adults (5.9 +/- 1.9 pg/ml, n = 22), normal children (7.1 +/- 1.86 pg /ml, n = 29), nonhaemodialysed children with chronic renal failure (CR F) (11.1 +/- 1.8 pg/ml), n = 10), renal graft recipients (9.5 +/- 3.4 pg/ml, n = 37), haemodialysed children 24 h after a haemodialysis sess ion (20.02 +/- 10.9 pg/ml, n = 26) and haemodialysed children before a nd after a haemodialysis session (15.31 +/- 10.6 and 13.8 +/- 8.5 resp ectively, n = 14). A sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay was used. ET-1 was significantly higher in non-haemodialysed CRF children and i n renal graft recipients than in normal children (P <0.001 and P <0.01 , respectively) and significantly higher in haemodialysed children whe n compared with normal children, non-haemodialysed CRF children and re nal graft recipients (P <0.001). ET-1 concentrations were similar in n ormal children and normal adults. ET-1 was inversely correlated with g lomerular filtration rate in non-haemodialysed CRF children (r = -0.39 , P <0.01) and positively correlated with extracellular volume in haem odialysed children (r = 0.435, P <0.03). After hae modialysis, ET-1 in creased in 6 and decreased in 8 of the 14 children studied before and after a haemodialysis session.