Mutation Plays Key Role in Hypertension

---

Omschrijving
A gene mutation of a key enzyme that regulates smooth muscle contraction and blood pressure in rats has been identified by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The finding, the first genetic link to muscle contraction and high blood pressure, may lead to improved treatments for hypertension.

The study appears in the September issue of Molecular Biology of the Cell.

When myosin, a protein that is abundant in muscle and is necessary for muscle contraction, is activated, smooth muscle cells in blood vessel walls contract and raise blood pressure. The cells also proliferate, thickening the walls and narrowing the channel, further increasing blood pressure.

Together, this results in hypertension, according to Dr. Primal de Lanerolle, professor of physiology and biophysics and senior author of the study. The current crop of drugs used to treat hypertension mainly targets contraction of the smooth muscle cells. They do not affect the proliferation of the cells, and the thickening of the walls of blood vessels is presently irreversible.

 

[ Ga naar het volledige artikel toe ]

Categorie: hoge bloeddruk

[Reinig uw lichaam met de Chlorella alg - 100% plantaardig ]

Het hoofdmenu
Nieuws
Supervoeding
Zoek op onderwerp