High blood pressure is something many people deal with.
It usually means taking pills every day to keep it under control. But what if you could take just one shot—and not worry about it for the next six months?
It may sound like science fiction, but researchers believe it could soon become reality. That’s thanks to a new drug called Zilebesiran.
Why do we need something new? Because daily pills can be hard to stick with. Life is busy, and many people forget to take their medication. In fact, more than half of people with high blood pressure don’t take their pills as regularly as they should. That’s a problem because untreated high blood pressure can lead to strokes, heart attacks, and even early death.
Scientists from around the world, including the University of Edinburgh, have tested Zilebesiran on a group of patients in the UK. The results were impressive. People who got the shot had their blood pressure lowered for up to six months.
A single dose dropped blood pressure by more than 10 points. The highest dose dropped it by more than 20 points—enough to move from a dangerous level to a much safer one.
Even better, the drug kept blood pressure steady all day long. That’s important because our blood pressure normally goes up and down throughout the day.
So how does it work? Zilebesiran is made by a U.S. company called Alnylam. The drug works by stopping the body from making a hormone called angiotensin.
This hormone tightens blood vessels and raises blood pressure. Other drugs also target angiotensin, but Zilebesiran goes further. It actually shuts down the gene that makes the protein responsible for all forms of this hormone.
The early study included 107 people, and 80 of them received the drug. No serious side effects were reported, but scientists say more testing is needed to make sure it’s safe over the long term.
Professor David Webb from the University of Edinburgh said, “This could be a big leap forward. It’s been 17 years since we’ve seen a new type of blood pressure medicine. We’re especially excited that a single shot can lower blood pressure and keep it down for about six months.”
If future studies confirm these early results, millions of people may soon have a simpler way to control their blood pressure. The days of daily pills could be behind us.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies that widely used blood pressure drug may increase eye disease risk and common blood pressure drugs linked to cognitive decline.
For more about blood pressure, please read studies about why checking blood pressure while lying down is very important and lowering top blood pressure number to less than 120 mm Hg effectively prevents heart disease.
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