Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Vol 61, 280-284, Copyright © 1985 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

Ultradian oscillations in plasma renin activity: their relationships to meals and sleep stages

G Brandenberger, M Follenius, A Muzet, J Ehrhart and JP Schieber

The 24-h pattern of PRA was studied in 6 supine normal subjects, and the relationship between sleep stages and PRA oscillations was analyzed using 18 nighttime profiles and the concomitant polygraphic recordings of sleep. Blood was collected at 10-min intervals. The slow trends obtained by adjusting a third degree polynomial to the 24-h data were not reproducible among individuals, and no circadian pattern was detected. Sustained oscillations in PRA occurred throughout the day. Spectral analysis revealed that PRA oscillated at a regular periodicity of about 100 min during the night. This periodicity was modified during the daytime by meal intake, which induced PRA peaks with large interindividual variations in size. A close relationship was found between the nocturnal PRA oscillations and the alternance of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep. Non-REM sleep invariably coincided with increasing or peaking PRA levels. REM sleep occurred as PRA was declining or at nadirs. More precisely, increases in PRA marked the transition from REM sleep to stage II, whereas stages III and IV usually occurred when PRA was highest. This relationship between the periodic nocturnal oscillations in PRA and the alternance of the REM- non-REM cycles may translate a similar oscillatory process in the central nervous system or may be linked to hemodynamic changes during sleep that might be partly controlled by the renin-angiotensin system.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Hurwitz, R. J. Cohen, and G. H. Williams Diurnal variation of aldosterone and plasma renin activity: timing relation to melatonin and cortisol and consistency after prolonged bed rest J Appl Physiol, April 1, 2004; 96(4): 1406 - 1414. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Charloux, C. Gronfier, E. Lonsdorfer-Wolf, F. Piquard, and G. Brandenberger Aldosterone release during the sleep-wake cycle in humans Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, January 1, 1999; 276(1): E43 - E49. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Fliser, J. D. Veldhuis, R. Dikow, H. Schmidt-Gayk, and E. Ritz Effects of Acute ACE Inhibition on Pulsatile Renin and Aldosterone Secretion and Their Synchrony Hypertension, November 1, 1998; 32(5): 929 - 934. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Charloux, H. Otzenberger, C. Gronfier, E. Lonsdorfer-Wolf, F. Piquard, and G. Brandenberger Oscillations in Sympatho-Vagal Balance Oppose Variations in {delta}-Wave Activity and the Associated Renin Release J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., May 1, 1998; 83(5): 1523 - 1528. [Abstract] [Full Text]