Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) News and Research

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Hypertension (or high blood pressure) is a condition where the pressure of the blood flowing through the arteries of the body is higher than it should be. Much like the pressure of the air in a tire, if the pressure of the blood is too high it can damage the arteries and organs of the body. Just like the tire, if the pressure suddenly becomes very high, catastrophic events can happen. Similarly, if the pressure remains somewhat elevated for a long enough period of time, premature wear and failure can occur.

Hypertension has its worst effects on the heart, kidneys, eyes, and brain. High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, hemorrhages of the retina of the eye, and generalized atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries all over the body).

European Obesity Day to focus on growing obesity epidemic

The growing obesity epidemic, which is predicted to affect more than half of all European citizens by 2030, will be the focus of European Obesity Day to be held on 21 May.

25 Mar 2016

Study: Cox2 inhibition improves outcomes in preeclampsia-like mouse model

Preeclampsia is characterized by elevated blood pressure in the second half of pregnancy and impaired blood flow to the placenta, which increases the risk of premature birth and pregnancy complications.

21 Mar 2016

Many kidney transplant patients may benefit from lower-than-standard dose of CNIs

The kidney is the most commonly transplanted organ in the United States, with more than 17,000 transplants performed each year. Following kidney transplant, patients are routinely placed on a regimen of immunosuppressant medications to prevent organ rejection, which often includes calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) as the backbone medication of this regimen.

16 Mar 2016

Research sheds light on healthy cardiac parameters, blood pressure levels of college football players

Ensuring the health and safety of student athletes is a top priority at Texas A&M, especially in the Department of Health and Kinesiology and the Health Science Center College of Medicine. Recent research published in The American Journal of Cardiology and led by Stephen Crouse, Ph.D., is shedding light on the healthy cardiac parameters and blood pressure levels of collegiate American-style football (ASF) athletes.

16 Mar 2016

Researchers report outcomes of dipyridamole drug in treating pterygium and related dry-eye symptoms

At the Israeli Society for Vision and Eye Research conference on March 10, the MedInsight Research Institute and Center for Drug Repurposing at Ariel University presented the latest findings on positive user-reported outcomes of the repurposed drug dipyridamole in treating pterygium and related dry-eye symptoms.

15 Mar 2016

Study could lead to potential new therapeutic target with fewer side effects for hypertension

A team of Vermont investigators has been issued a patent for their discovery of a molecule that rescues damaged blood vessels, yet preserves healthy vessels and could serve as a springboard for a new pharmaceutical therapy with fewer side effects for hypertension - a major risk factor for cardiovascular and kidney disease that effects roughly one in three people in the U.S.

15 Mar 2016

People with type 2 diabetes, OSA may not experience improved glycemic control with CPAP

People with type 2 diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may not experience improved glycemic control by using continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, as some studies have suggested, according to the results of a randomized, controlled trial published online ahead of print in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

13 Mar 2016

Excess comorbidity flagged in MS patients

Patients with multiple sclerosis have more comorbidities than would be expected for their age, even at the time of diagnosis, say researchers.

10 Mar 2016

Popular kidney cancer drugs do not reduce incidence of recurrence

Two widely used targeted therapy drugs approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic kidney cancer—sorafenib and sunitinib—are no more effective than a placebo in preventing return of the disease to increase life spans of patients suffering from advanced kidney cancer after surgery, according to a new multi-institutional study in the Lancet led by a researcher at the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) of the University of Pennsylvania.

10 Mar 2016

World Kidney Day 2016 focuses on children

On Thursday March 10th we are celebrating the 11th edition of World Kidney Day (WKD), a joint initiative organized by the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF).

10 Mar 2016

Is the global diet getting sweeter? An interview with Professor Barry Popkin

In the past, caloric sweeteners simply referred to cane sugar or beet sugar. However, over time we've created hundreds of different sugars that are all providing calories of the same amount, about four calories for every gram of the sugar. Some examples include corn syrups and more processed sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup.

10 Mar 2016

New, regenerative medicine approach developed to remove congenital cataracts in infants

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Shiley Eye Institute, with colleagues in China, have developed a new, regenerative medicine approach to remove congenital cataracts in infants, permitting remaining stem cells to regrow functional lenses.

10 Mar 2016

Renal risk factors for NA-treated HBV patients identified

A South Korean research team has identified several clinical and medical factors associated with renal function decline in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection treated with oral nucleos(t)ide analogues.

10 Mar 2016

Tricuspid regurgitation tied to outcomes in PAH patients

Tricuspid regurgitation progresses in line with right ventricular remodelling and increasing pulmonary artery systolic pressure in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, research shows.

10 Mar 2016

Regulatory immune cells compromised in PAH

Research suggests that regulatory T cells may play a part in all subtypes of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

10 Mar 2016

PAH role proposed for left heart failure biomarker

Levels of galectin-3 are elevated in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension and correlate with disease severity, research shows.

10 Mar 2016

Nearly half of African-American adults at risk of developing hypertension

The stats are too familiar: Nearly half of African-American adults are at risk of developing hypertension, a rate significantly higher than that of any other group in the United States. Hypertension-related ailments, such as strokes and end-stage renal disease, account for 20 percent of all deaths among African-Americans.

10 Mar 2016