High blood pressure is a common health problem that affects many people. It’s usually treated with daily pills, but more than half of the people who need these medications often forget to take them.
This makes it harder to keep blood pressure under control, which can lead to serious health issues like stroke, heart attack, and early death.
Now, scientists are studying a new drug called zilebesiran that may offer a simpler way to manage high blood pressure. This drug is being tested by researchers from several institutions, including the University of Edinburgh. Early results suggest that zilebesiran can lower blood pressure for up to six months with just one injection.
In recent tests in the UK, people who received zilebesiran saw a big drop in their systolic blood pressure—the number that shows the pressure when the heart pumps blood.
People who got 200 milligrams or more of the drug had an average drop of over 10 points. Those who received an 800-milligram dose saw a drop of more than 20 points. This kind of drop could help bring a person’s blood pressure to a much safer level.
Zilebesiran is made by a U.S. company called Alnylam. It works by targeting a hormone called angiotensin, which causes blood vessels to tighten and raises blood pressure.
Zilebesiran stops the liver from making a protein called angiotensinogen, which starts the process of making angiotensin. The drug uses a special method to shut down the gene that produces this protein, which keeps the hormone from being made in the first place.
The study involved 107 people with high blood pressure. Eighty of them received a single shot of zilebesiran, and the rest were given a placebo, which has no active ingredients. The next step is to do more studies to make sure the drug is safe and to understand how it works over a longer period.
Professor David Webb from the University of Edinburgh said this could be a big improvement in how we treat high blood pressure. He noted that there hasn’t been a new type of treatment for this condition in 17 years.
A drug like zilebesiran could help people stick to their treatment because they wouldn’t need to take medicine every day. The focus now is on making sure the drug is safe and effective before it can be approved for use by the public.
Zilebesiran may offer a new and easier way to manage high blood pressure. If future research confirms its safety, this drug could become a convenient option for many people.
If you’re concerned about high blood pressure, it’s also helpful to learn about small lifestyle changes that can improve your condition, such as eating healthier, staying active, and managing stress.
This study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and shows that zilebesiran has the potential to change how we treat high blood pressure in the future.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about how diets could help lower high blood pressure, and 3 grams of omega-3s a day keep high blood pressure at bay.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how tea and coffee influence your risk of high blood pressure, and results showing this olive oil could reduce blood pressure in healthy people.
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