High blood pressure is a very common health problem that affects millions of people around the world.
Right now, the most common way to manage it is by taking medicine every day. But this method doesn’t work well for everyone. In fact, more than half of the people who are prescribed these pills often forget to take them. This puts their health at risk.
When high blood pressure is not controlled, it can lead to serious health issues like strokes, heart attacks, and even early death. Because of this, scientists have been looking for an easier and more reliable way to manage blood pressure. A new drug called zilebesiran might be the answer.
Researchers from several institutions, including the University of Edinburgh, have been studying zilebesiran. Their early findings are very promising. Unlike the pills that must be taken every day, zilebesiran is given as a single injection—and it can keep blood pressure under control for up to six months.
In a clinical trial in the UK, people who took the drug saw big improvements in their blood pressure. For those who received doses of 200 milligrams or more, their systolic blood pressure dropped by more than 10 mmHg.
The highest dose tested, 800 milligrams, led to a drop of over 20 mmHg. These are big improvements that could move many people from a dangerous blood pressure level to a safer, healthier one.
So, how does this new drug work? Zilebesiran targets a hormone in the body called angiotensin. This hormone causes blood vessels to tighten, which raises blood pressure.
The drug stops the body from making a protein called angiotensinogen, which is the first step in making angiotensin. It uses advanced gene-silencing technology to switch off the gene that makes this protein. This means there is less angiotensin in the body, which helps lower blood pressure.
The clinical trial included 107 people with high blood pressure. Of those, 80 received one shot of zilebesiran, while the rest were given a placebo—a treatment with no real drug in it. The results showed that zilebesiran can be a powerful and long-lasting way to manage high blood pressure.
However, scientists say more research is needed to make sure the drug is safe and works well in the long term. Professor David Webb from the University of Edinburgh said, “This is a potentially big step forward for treating high blood pressure.
We haven’t had a new kind of drug for this condition in 17 years. A treatment like this could make it much easier for people to stay on track with their care.”
If future research confirms the safety and long-term benefits of zilebesiran, it could become a life-changing option for millions of people. It would offer a more convenient and dependable way to manage blood pressure, without the need to remember daily pills.
This drug could also help save lives by improving treatment success. While it’s not yet available for public use, this new development gives hope for better blood pressure care in the future.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about the ideal blood pressure for older people and common high blood pressure drugs may cause memory problems.
For more health information, please read studies about A common blood pressure medication that could help you live longer and 1 in 5 people with high blood pressure takes a medication that harms blood pressure.
The findings from this study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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