Health News
- Study Says Obese Children (kentucky's A Leader In That) May Have Quadruple The Risk Of Having High Blood Pressure As Adults
By Molly Burchett Kentucky Health News A new study shows that being obese in childhood may quadruple the risk of having high blood pressure risk as an adult, highlighting the need for Kentucky to curb its high rate of childhood obesity. Eighteen percent...
- The Truth About Sea Salt
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom We?re all well aware of the recommendation to trim our daily salt intake and aim for less than 2500 mg per day (1500 mg for those with high blood pressure or related risk factors). As I?ve discussed before, cutting back on...
- Salt Sense
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom You might be surprised to know that most of the salt we consume every day doesn?t come from the salt shaker ? it comes from processed foods. These are the conveniently packaged, boxed, and canned products that don?t taste particularly...
- Foods To Eat For High Blood Pressure
Are you on a high grain, low fat diet...like most American's? If you are reading my blog...probably not, BUT if you know someone who has high blood pressure, how are they eating? Most people who are insulin resistant also have high blood pressure,...
- Blood Pressure Screening Next Week
When is the last time you have had your blood pressure checked? High blood pressure can lead to coronary heart disease, kidney failure, stroke, heart failure, and other problems. High blood pressure is defined as 140/90 or higher. Blood pressure tends...
Health News
Researchers discover why common blood-pressure medicine doesn't work for some people: your kidneys don't want to lose salt
Each year, more than 120 million prescriptions are written around the world for thiazide drugs, which lower salt to treat high blood pressure. High blood pressure affects 28 percent of Kentucky adults, according to the state Department for Public Health. Thiazide drugs often save lives but are ineffective in some patients and only work for a time in others. A study by University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers has found a key reason for the failure.
Thiazides prevent salt from moving through the kidney, causing it to expel salt and water. However, the researchers found that the kidney seems to know "that it's losing too much salt and activates mechanisms to retain salt in other ways," said Paul Welling, a professor of physiology at the University of Maryland.
The researchers studied an animal model designed to prevent salt retention, which imitated the thiazides' effects. They discovered almost 400 genes that alter their activity to assist regulation of the kidney's salt control. Eventually, it might be possible to make drugs that affect the body's mechanisms that control how the body interacts with thiazides.
Welling and his colleagues also may have discovered a "biomarker" that could allow doctors to easily find out in which patients thiazides will not work. When the kidney is working against the thiazides, a certain molecule increases in the urine. "Now that we know more about these novel pathways and processes, we can begin to find new ways to help patients with high blood pressure," said Dean E. Albert Reece, vice president for medical affairs at the University of Maryland.
Thiazides prevent salt from moving through the kidney, causing it to expel salt and water. However, the researchers found that the kidney seems to know "that it's losing too much salt and activates mechanisms to retain salt in other ways," said Paul Welling, a professor of physiology at the University of Maryland.
The researchers studied an animal model designed to prevent salt retention, which imitated the thiazides' effects. They discovered almost 400 genes that alter their activity to assist regulation of the kidney's salt control. Eventually, it might be possible to make drugs that affect the body's mechanisms that control how the body interacts with thiazides.
Welling and his colleagues also may have discovered a "biomarker" that could allow doctors to easily find out in which patients thiazides will not work. When the kidney is working against the thiazides, a certain molecule increases in the urine. "Now that we know more about these novel pathways and processes, we can begin to find new ways to help patients with high blood pressure," said Dean E. Albert Reece, vice president for medical affairs at the University of Maryland.
- Study Says Obese Children (kentucky's A Leader In That) May Have Quadruple The Risk Of Having High Blood Pressure As Adults
By Molly Burchett Kentucky Health News A new study shows that being obese in childhood may quadruple the risk of having high blood pressure risk as an adult, highlighting the need for Kentucky to curb its high rate of childhood obesity. Eighteen percent...
- The Truth About Sea Salt
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom We?re all well aware of the recommendation to trim our daily salt intake and aim for less than 2500 mg per day (1500 mg for those with high blood pressure or related risk factors). As I?ve discussed before, cutting back on...
- Salt Sense
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom You might be surprised to know that most of the salt we consume every day doesn?t come from the salt shaker ? it comes from processed foods. These are the conveniently packaged, boxed, and canned products that don?t taste particularly...
- Foods To Eat For High Blood Pressure
Are you on a high grain, low fat diet...like most American's? If you are reading my blog...probably not, BUT if you know someone who has high blood pressure, how are they eating? Most people who are insulin resistant also have high blood pressure,...
- Blood Pressure Screening Next Week
When is the last time you have had your blood pressure checked? High blood pressure can lead to coronary heart disease, kidney failure, stroke, heart failure, and other problems. High blood pressure is defined as 140/90 or higher. Blood pressure tends...