Aldosterone News and Research

RSS

Aldosterone is a steroid hormone made by the adrenal cortex (the outer layer of the adrenal gland). It helps control the balance of water and salts in the kidney by keeping sodium in and releasing potassium from the body. Too much aldosterone can cause high blood pressure and a build-up of fluid in body tissues. Aldosterone is a type of mineralocorticoid hormone.

Relypsa commences patient enrollment in Phase 2b clinical trial of RLY5016 for treating hyperkalemia

Relypsa, Inc., today announced the initiation of patient enrollment in the PEARL-HF study, a Phase 2b clinical trial of the company’s lead compound, RLY5016. A novel potassium binder designed for chronic use, RLY5016 is being evaluated in the prevention and treatment of hyperkalemia, for which there are no current satisfactory treatments.

7 Oct 2009

FDA approves Valturna tablets for treating high blood pressure

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Valturna((R)) (aliskiren and valsartan) tablets, the first and only medicine to target two key points within the renin system, also known as the renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS), an important regulator of blood pressure.

18 Sep 2009

IMPROVE HF clinical trial results presented at annual HFSA meeting

Twenty-four month findings from IMPROVE HF, (The Registry to Improve the Use of Evidence-Based Heart Failure Therapies in the Outpatient Setting), funded by Medtronic, Inc., demonstrated that clinics using the process improvement program increased adherence to evidence-based, guideline-recommended care by 82 and 62 percent, respectively, for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) use, and 80 percent for aldosterone antagonist use, all relative to baseline results.

15 Sep 2009

Modest decline for hypertension drug industry over the next decade

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that despite generic erosion of many branded agents -- most notably Novartis's Diovan -- the hypertension drug market will experience only modest decline over the next decade.

26 Aug 2009

ACE inhibitors and AT1R blockers suppress inflammation in mice

Conventional blood pressure medication can treat inflammation in an animal model mimicking multiple sclerosis (MS). This discovery was made by Dr. Michael Platten, head consultant at the department of Neurooncology at Heidelberg University Hospital and head of the Helmholtz Experimental Neuroimmunology Junior Research Group on at the German Cancer Research Center and his team in cooperation with scientists from Stanford University in California.

19 Aug 2009

Overweight male teenagers with normal blood pressures showing signs of heart damage

Even while their blood pressures are still normal, overweight male teens may have elevated levels of a hormone known to increase pressures as well as early signs of heart damage, researchers say.

1 Jun 2009

Determining success or failure in cholesterol-controlling drugs

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have discovered that a complex network of interactions between drugs and the proteins with which they bind can explain adverse drug effects. Their findings suggest that adverse drug effects might be minimized by using single or multiple drug therapies in order to fine-tune multiple off-target interactions.

15 May 2009

Low lead levels in children can affect cardiovascular responses to stress

Even low levels of lead found in the blood during early childhood can adversely affect how the child's cardiovascular system responds to stress and could possibly lead to hypertension later in life, according to a study from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego.

20 Apr 2009

New target for heart failure therapy identified

A novel signaling pathway plays a significant role in the production of aldosterone, a hormone that promotes heart failure after a myocardial infarction, according to a study conducted by Thomas Jefferson University researchers.

16 Mar 2009

Hormone aldosterone linked to high blood pressure and blood vessel disease in African Americans

Researchers at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee have linked higher levels of the hormone aldosterone to high blood pressure and blood vessel disease in African Americans.

17 Feb 2009

Candesartan cilexetil reduces proteinuria in kidney disease patients

Taking a much higher than recommended dose of the hypertension drug candesartan cilexetil effectively lowered the amount of protein excreted in the urine of patients with kidney disease, according to a study appearing in the April 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology ( JASN ).

11 Feb 2009

Seasonal variation in blood pressure

A French study reported in the 12th January issue of Archives of Internal Medicine has found a strong correlation between blood pressure and outdoor temperature in a large sample of the elderly.

19 Jan 2009

Treatment fails to improve common form of heart failure

A medication used for high blood pressure does not improve a common form of heart failure, according to new results from a large, international study.

5 Dec 2008

Study finds medication fails to improve common form of heart failure

A medication used for high blood pressure does not improve a common form of heart failure, according to new results from a large, international study.

5 Dec 2008

Treatment with irbesartan fails to improve common form of heart failure

A medication used for high blood pressure does not improve a common form of heart failure, according to new results from a large, international study.

4 Dec 2008

Vitamin D deficiency could lead to heart problems

Vitamin D deficiency - which is traditionally associated with bone and muscle weakness - may also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

1 Dec 2008

New therapy for heart failure

During heart failure the body reacts to the production of the hormone aldosterone. Too much aldosterone can stiffen and damage the muscles of the heart.

15 Oct 2008

Blood pressure response to daily stress provides clues for better hypertension treatment

How the body regulates blood pressure in response to daily stress is the focus of a study geared toward helping people whose pressure is out of control.

14 Aug 2008

Discovery of master switch that regulates blood pressure

A team of Oregon Health & Science University researchers studying a rare form of hypertension has identified the mechanism by which they believe a protein complex in the kidney operates as a master switch that regulates blood pressure, a finding that has broad implications for the treatment of more common forms of hypertension.

2 Nov 2007