Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Plasma noradrenaline increases with age

Abstract

WE measured plasma noradrenaline (NA) levels in about 20 individuals who were to serve as normal control subjects and noted that older subjects tended to have higher NA levels. Extending the study to teenage and elderly subjects revealed that basal levels of plasma NA correlate with age and that the increase in plasma NA in response to stress is similarly related to age. There is considerable evidence that sensitivity to NA and NA metabolism change with increasing age. In rabbits and cats the threshold for cardiovascular response to low levels of NA decreases with old age1. In ageing rats uptake of NA into the heart is greater than in young animals2 and there is a diminished inotropic response of aged rat myocardium to a fixed concentration of NA (ref. 3). Cardiac monoamine oxidase activity increases severalfold during the life span of a rat while dopa decarboxylase decreases during the first year2. In man, propranalol, which blocks β-adrenergic receptors, reduces heart rate and cardiac output during exercise, but this effect is considerably smaller in older subjects4. The response of heart rate to hypoxia and hypercapnia is attenuated in older men5.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Frolkis, V. V., et al., Gerontologia, 16, 129–140 (1970).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Gey, K. F., Bunkard, W. P., and Pletscher, A., Gerontologia, 11, 1–11 (1965).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Lakatta, E. G., Gerstenblith, G., Angell, C. S., Shock, N. W., and Weisfeldt, M. L., Circ. Res., 36, 262–269 (1974).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Conway, J., Wheeler, R., and Sannerstedt, R., Cardiovasc. Res., 5, 577–581 (1971).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Kronenberg, R. S., and Drage, C. W., J. clin. Invest., 52, 1812–1819 (1973).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Weinshilboum, R. M., Thoa, N. B., Johnson, D. G., Kopin, I. J., and Axelrod, J., Science, 174, 1349–1351 (1971).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Freedman, L. S., et al., Nature, 236, 310–311 (1972).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. McKendrick, T., and Edwards, R. W. H., Arch. Dis. Childh., 40, 418 (1965).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Engelman, K., Portnoy, B., and Sjoerdsma, A., Supp. I to Circ. Res., XXVI, and XXVII, I-141–I-146 (1970).

    Google Scholar 

  10. De Quattro, V., and Chan, S., The Lancet, i, 806–809 (1972).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Geffen, L. B., Rush, R. A., Louis, W. J., and Doyle, A. E., Clin. Sci., 44, 617–620 (1973).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Louis, W. J., Doyle, A. E., and Anavekar, S., N. Engl. J. Med., 288, 599–601 (1973).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Jiang, N. S., Stoffer, S. S., Pikler, G. M., Wadel, O., and Sheps, S. G., Mayo Clin. Proc., 48, 47–49 (1973).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Imai, K., Wang, M. T., Yoshiue, S., and Tamura, Z., Clin. chim. Acta, 43, 145–149 (1973).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. De Quattro, V., Miura, Y., Lurvey, A., Cosgrove, M., and Mendez, R., Circ. Res., 36, 118–126 (1975).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Hashida, J., et al., Jap. Heart J., 15, 186 (1974).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Koslowski, S., Brzezinska, K., Kowalski, W., and Franczyk, M., Clin. Sci. Molec. Med., 45, 723–731 (1973).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Henry, D. P., Starman, B. J., Johnson, D. G., and Williams, R. H., Life Sci., 16, 375–384 (1975).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

ZIEGLER, M., LAKE, C. & KOPIN, I. Plasma noradrenaline increases with age. Nature 261, 333–335 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/261333a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/261333a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing