In a study from the University of Birmingham, scientists found patients who suffer from a form of raised brain pressure could have their condition identified earlier thanks to new metabolic clues.
They looked at the metabolism of people who experienced Idiopathic Intercranial Hypertension (IIH), a common condition characterized by raised pressure in the brain and featuring debilitating headaches and the risk of sight loss.
The team tested various metabolic markers, including blood, spinal fluid, and urine.
They found that four groups of markers were different from those of control participants, and suggest that high blood pressure involves changes in the metabolism rather than solely being a neurological illness.
The paper builds on previous studies from the team, which have demonstrated that IIH also features metabolic disturbances.
Metabolic analysis has demonstrated that IIH patients exhibit insulin resistance, which is the predominant feature of diabetes, and a differential function of fat tissue, which is metabolically primed for increased calorie storage and weight gain.
Weight loss also improves brain pressure in IIH patients, further supporting the hypothesis that metabolism plays a role in disease development.
The team says the experiences that patients with IIH have are significant, and without being picked up can have serious consequences, including sight loss. This is why this research is so important.
Researchers are identifying markers that can help to both identify a way to diagnose IIH, as well as provide a much better understanding of the root causes of the condition.
It’s also very encouraging to see that the effect of weight loss interventions can have a profound effect not only on the symptoms but also on the underlying metabolic clues.
This shows how important it is to consider IIH as a potential metabolic disease as well as a neurological condition.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about how sugar and whole fruit could affect your blood pressure, and blood pressure drops 14 years before death.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies that unstable blood pressure may mean a big dementia risk, and results showing this blood pressure drug may repair blood vessels in the brain.
The study was conducted by Olivia Grech et al and published in Neurology.
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