Altered pituitary hormone response to naloxone in hypertension development.

Endogenous opioid regulation of blood pressure is altered during stress in young adults at risk for hypertension. We studied the effects of the opioid antagonist naloxone on the secretion of corticotropin and beta-endorphin during psychological stress in young adults with mildly elevated casual arterial pressures. Naloxone-induced secretion of both corticotropin and beta-endorphin was significantly diminished in persons at enhanced risk for hypertension compared with the low blood pressure control group. Results suggest that opioidergic inhibition of anterior pituitary function is altered in hypertension development.