High blood pressure, or hypertension, can cause trouble in our bodies. It’s like pumping air too hard into a balloon.
It might cause the balloon to pop! In our bodies, it can lead to heart issues, strokes, and more.
Finding the Blood Pressure Mystery
Doctors were puzzled by a strange type of high blood pressure. This affected a few people. One in every twenty people had it. But why?
They found a tiny harmless lump in these people. This lump, or nodule, makes a hormone called aldosterone. Hormones are like messages in the body. This one tells our body how much salt we need.
A Different Nodule and a Special Gene
In some of these nodules, there was a change in a gene. Genes are like instructions that tell our body how to work. This change caused the nodule to make too much aldosterone, but only sometimes.
The Silent Hormone and the Sneaky Gene
This gene change created problems. It stopped a protein called CADM1 from doing its job.
This protein helps cells to “talk” to each other, telling them when to stop making aldosterone. But now, it was like the cells didn’t hear the “stop” command.
Also, the hormone didn’t show up all the time. Sometimes, it was there in large amounts, causing a salt overload and high blood pressure.
Other times, it seemed normal. This made it very tricky for doctors to find the problem.
A Simple Cure: Remove the Nodule
Here’s the good news: this type of high blood pressure could be cured! Doctors could remove one of the two adrenal glands, where the nodule is.
People who had high blood pressure, even when taking many drugs, were normal after this.
But there was a problem. Only 1% of people with this issue were diagnosed. The hormone is not usually checked for causing high blood pressure.
Looking for the Hormone in a Better Way
Researchers suggested a better way. Instead of a one-time blood test, they said a 24-hour urine test could find more people with this problem.
The first person in this study was found during a clinical trial. This is a test of new treatments. Doctors saw his hormone levels change during the trial.
Understanding More About High Blood Pressure
In many people with high blood pressure, we don’t know the cause. They have to take drugs all their life.
Previous research found that 5-10% of these people had a gene change in their adrenal glands. This made them produce too much aldosterone.
This hormone causes the body to keep more salt. This increases blood pressure.
People with too much aldosterone don’t respond well to normal blood pressure drugs. They also have higher risks of heart attacks and strokes.
The Researchers’ Message
Professor Morris Brown, a researcher in this study, explained their discovery. He said that most patients allowed them to do special analyses of their samples.
This helped them understand the cause of the high blood pressure and how to cure it.
In the future, they might not have to remove the whole adrenal gland. They might only need to burn the tiny nodule. They are still researching this.
This story shows how important science is in solving medical mysteries. Even a tiny nodule can cause big troubles. But with the right research, we can find the answers!
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and coconut sugar could help reduce blood pressure and artery stiffness.
For more information about blood pressure, please read studies about a key contributor to high blood pressure, and your age may determine which blood pressure number matters most.
The study was published in Nature Genetics.
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