Plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal pro-BNP (N-BNP) are highly sensitive markers of ventricular dysfunction and/or hypertrophy and, in established disease, offer prognostic value and may be useful for guidance of therapy. Ng and co-workers report in this issue of Clinical Science that urinary levels of N-BNP may be as useful as plasma levels for the discrimination of...

BACKGROUND The B-type natriuretic peptides (BNP and N-terminal pro-BNP) are secreted by the heart and, in the case of BNP, serve to maintain circulatory homeostasis through renal and vascular actions and oppose many effects of the renin-angiotensin system. Recent evidence suggests that in patients with severe heart failure, circulating immunoreactive BNP is made up mainly of metabolites that ma...

1. Hormones involved in cardiovascular regulation are influenced by drug treatment. It is therefore difficult to study endocrine mechanisms in heart failure as most patients are already on treatment by the time they reach hospital. 2. We studied nine hospital in-patients before and after treatment of acute New York Heart Association class IV heart failure. 3. Before treatment, plasma brain and ...

BACKGROUND Recent studies have shown that in addition to brain (or B-type) natriuretic peptide (BNP) and the N-terminal proBNP fragment, levels of intact proBNP are also increased in heart failure. Moreover, present BNP immunoassays also measure proBNP, as the anti-BNP antibody cross-reacts with proBNP. It is important to know the exact levels of proBNP in heart failure, because elevation of th...

The natriuretic peptide system consists of at least three endogenous ligands: atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), and three receptors, ANP-A receptor (guanylate cyclase A), ANP-B receptor (guanylate cyclase B) and clearance receptor (C receptor). ANP, the prototype of natriuretic peptides, is mainly produced in the atrium and s...

OBJECTIVES Using a prospective study design, we assessed the value of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) to identify patients with heart failure who have an increased risk of deterioration of their functional status. Furthermore, we examined the relationship between BNP and various clinical characteristics incorporated into an established survival model used for risk stratification. BACKGROUND Pre...

BACKGROUND Plasma concentrations of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP-32) and its precursor (proBNP) are increased in chronic heart failure. Accordingly, BNP-32 and proBNP are both being implemented as clinical markers. AIM To determine the molar relation of BNP-32 and proBNP in different cardiovascular regions. METHODS AND RESULTS Blood samples were obtained from different cardiovascular reg...

It is possible that plasma BNP measurement might be to heart failure what glycated haemoglobin measurement is to diabetes mellitus. Indeed, within 12-24 months, BNP testing might become a routine addition to the monitoring of patients with heart failure. In the meantime its main role is in helping to rule out heart failure in patients with new symptoms

Brain and atrial natriuretic peptides (BNP and ANP) are cardiac hormones with diuretic, natriuretic, and vasodilatory activities. Cardiomyopathic hamsters are widely used animal models of heart failure. Due to the structural divergence of BNP among species, examination on pathophysiological roles of BNP using cardiomyopathic hamsters is so far impossible. We therefore isolated hamster BNP and A...

Langenickel, Thomas, Ines Pagel, Klaus Höhnel, Rainer Dietz, and Roland Willenbrock. Differential regulation of cardiac ANP and BNP mRNA in different stages of experimental heart failure. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 278: H1500–H1506, 2000.—Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) are cardiac hormones that are involved in water and electrolyte homeostasis in heart...