Immunocytochemical localization of angiotensin II and vasopressin in rat hypothalamus: evidence for production in the same neuron.

1. By immunoperoxidase technique, immunoreactive angiotensin II (ANG II) was located in the cell bodies of many magnocellular neurons in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus and their pathways to median eminence and posterior pituitary gland in the rat. 2. Like vasopressin and its neurophysin, but not oxytocin, ANG II was also found in parvocellular neurons in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. 3. Analysis of these peptides in the same magnocellular neurons reveals that ANG II is localized primarily in vasopressin cells. 4. Like vasopressin and its precursor, ANG II is deficient in homozygous Brattleboro rats with diabetes insipidus. 5. In adrenalectomized rats increases in vasopressin and its neurophysin in median eminence are associated with increases in ANG II. 6. The data suggest that the ANG II demonstrated shares antigenic determinants with the vasopressin precursor, or is regulated in a similar way to vasopressin in the same neurons.

The Harlem regional stroke program: an overview.

The Harlem regional stroke program has been a demonstration model designed to detect, treat, and follow up stroke and hypertension patients through collaboration with a municipal teaching hospital, community practitioners, local service organizations and a major medical school. Many aspects of the stroke program appear suitable for replication at the local or regional levels in varied settings. In particular, the program has demonstrated the need to link community outreach programs, stressing early detection and preventive-care education, with sustained treatment and follow-up programs. The stroke program has also suggested ways in which specialized programs can be incorporated into long-term comprehensive health planning and care facilities at local and regional levels.

Adolescent hypertension.

The present appraisal indicates that blood pressure patterns in adolescence differ from those in adulthood and that the design of hypertension detection programs needs to be modified for this age group. Routine blood pressure screening within the school system would appear to be the most effective means for early detection of hypertension. Links with established hypertension clinics, preferably within an adolescent unit, should be forged so that health preservation becomes a meaningful part of the educational process. Although primary hypertension has been documented in the adolescent age group, the incidence is unknown and careful diagnostic evaluation is warranted until our knowledge of its characteristics is more fully expanded.