One shot could control high blood pressure for half a year, study finds

Credit: Unsplash+

High blood pressure is a common issue that many people deal with. Currently, the go-to treatment is daily medication.

However, forgetting to take daily pills is a problem for over half the people with high blood pressure, making it hard to keep the condition under control.

This is worrying because uncontrolled high blood pressure increases the risk of stroke, heart attack, and even early death. So, there’s a real need for a more convenient way to manage high blood pressure.

Meet Zilebesiran: A Game-Changer in the Making

Researchers from several institutions, including the University of Edinburgh, have been testing a new drug called zilebesiran.

The drug has shown the potential to significantly lower blood pressure and keep it low for up to six months— all with just one shot.

During the tests in the UK, people who received the drug saw a big drop in their systolic blood pressure, which measures the force of the heart pumping blood.

With doses of 200mg or more, the drop averaged over 10 mmHg, while a dose of 800mg led to a drop of more than 20 mmHg. These kinds of changes could potentially bring a person’s blood pressure into a safer range.

How Does This Magic Shot Work?

The drug is made by a U.S. company called Alnylam and it works by stopping the production of a hormone called angiotensin.

This hormone is responsible for narrowing blood vessels, which increases blood pressure. Zilebesiran goes straight to the liver to stop the production of angiotensinogen, a protein that is the starting point for making angiotensin.

It uses a special method to shut off the gene responsible for making this protein, effectively stopping the hormone from being produced.

What’s Next for Zilebesiran?

The study involved 107 patients with high blood pressure. Of these, 80 got a single shot of the drug, while the rest got a placebo or fake treatment.

Now, the researchers want to do more studies to confirm that the drug is safe and to understand its long-term effects on people with high blood pressure.

Professor David Webb from the University of Edinburgh said, “This is potentially a big step forward for treating high blood pressure.

We haven’t had a new type of drug for this in 17 years. This new approach could help people stick to their treatment plans. Our next steps will focus on safety and effectiveness before the drug can be approved for public use.”

This new drug could be a major leap forward in making it easier for people to manage their high blood pressure effectively. With more research, zilebesiran might become a reliable and convenient option for many.

If you’re concerned about high blood pressure, you might also be interested in learning about unrecognized causes or small habits that can benefit your condition.

For more details, you can look into recent studies on efficient ways to treat high blood pressure and how different foods like potatoes can impact it.

The findings of this study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies about a common and unrecognized cause of high blood pressure, and this small habit can greatly benefit people with high blood pressure, cholesterol.

For more information about high blood pressure, please see recent studies about more efficient way to treat high blood pressure, and 12 foods that lower blood pressure.

Follow us on Twitter for more articles about this topic.

Copyright © 2023 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.