Elevated endogenous digitalis-like substance in hypertensive diabetic patients with a family history of hypertension

Endogenous digital-like substance (DLS) is increased in patients with essential hypertension and is hypothesized to play a role in the pathogenesis of high blood pressure. Whether an increase in DLS in diabetic patients with hypertension is associated with a family history of hypertension or diabetic nephropathy was investigated. Plasma DLS was measured as Na+-K+-ATPase inhibitory activity (ATPI) in 100 Type 2 diabetic patients. Ouabain was used as a standard of Na-K-ATPase inhibition. Diabetic patients with hypertension demostrated a greater ATPI level than normotensive diabetic patients (p < 0.05). In patients with hypertension groups, the positive family history gruop had a higher ATPI level than the negative family history group (p < 0.01). Microalbuminuria was not correlated with the ATPI level in diabetic patients. These results suggest that ATPI might play a role in the pathogenesis of hereditary hypertension associated with diabetes mellitus, but not have etiologic significance in diabetic nephropathy.