Abstract: Objective To study the effects of changes of neuropeptide Y(NPY) and neurotensin(NT) concentrations in plasma and their ratio imbalance on the incidence of essential hypertension (EH).Methods NPY and NT in plasma in 176 patients with EH were measured with radioimmunoassay(RIA). Results NPY in the EH patients was higher than that in the normal subjects (P<0.01), and went up with the aggravation of the patients′condition( P<0.01).NT in the EH patients was lower compared with the normal subjects (P<0.01), and went down with the aggravation of the patients′ condition ( P<0.01). NPY/NT in the EH patients was higher than that in the normal subjects (P<0.01), and was accordant with patients′ condition. Conclusion NPY and NT are involved in the incidence of EH.The ratio imbalance of NPY/NT may be one of the factors causing EH.

Key words: neuropeptide Y, neurotensin