LA TROBE University and the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute are leading a major new study into the causes of high blood pressure (BP) and have found a possible link with chronic inflammation.
Inflammation-suppressing drugs, usually reserved for patients with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, may prove to be at least part of the solution for the management of high blood pressure, researchers say.
The findings, published in the journal Cardiovascular Research, relate only to mice at this stage but offer considerable hope in terms of finding the root cause of hypertension and may lead to more treatment options.
Lead author Dr Antony Vinh said the team was testing the idea that lifestyle factors such as high salt and high fat diets directly activate an enzyme found in the kidneys and blood vessels -- known as the inflammasome - CLICK HERE.
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