Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) News and Research

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Hypertension (or high blood pressure) is a condition where the pressure of the blood flowing through the arteries of the body is higher than it should be. Much like the pressure of the air in a tire, if the pressure of the blood is too high it can damage the arteries and organs of the body. Just like the tire, if the pressure suddenly becomes very high, catastrophic events can happen. Similarly, if the pressure remains somewhat elevated for a long enough period of time, premature wear and failure can occur.

Hypertension has its worst effects on the heart, kidneys, eyes, and brain. High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, hemorrhages of the retina of the eye, and generalized atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries all over the body).

Form of epigenetics may play role in pulmonary arterial hypertension: Researchers

A rare but fatal disease of blood vessels in the lung may be caused in part by aberrant silencing of genes rather than genetic mutation, new research reports. Pulmonary arterial hypertension, a syndrome characterized by gradual blockage of blood vessels in the lungs, has been linked to genetic causes in a small percentage of patients. But University of Chicago researchers have now found that a form of epigenetics - the modification of gene expression - causes the disease in an animal model and could contribute to the disease in humans.

8 Jun 2010

Vandetanib extends Progression Free Survival in ZETA phase III study for advanced medullary thyroid cancer

Results from ZETA, a phase III study in patients with advanced medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), showed that treatment with the investigational drug vandetanib significantly extended Progression Free Survival (PFS), the primary endpoint of the study, by demonstrating a 54% reduction in the rate of progression compared to placebo.

8 Jun 2010

OXiGENE reports positive final data from Phase 1 study of OXi4503 in patients with solid tumors

OXiGENE, Inc., a clinical-stage, biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics to treat cancer and eye diseases, announced today that in collaboration with OXiGENE, Professor Gordon Rustin and colleagues from the Mount Vernon Cancer Research Centre, UK and other institutions in the United Kingdom, reported positive final data from an investigator-sponsored Phase 1 study of OXi4503 in patients with solid tumors.

7 Jun 2010

Ranibizumab improves vision in patients with visual impairment due to DME: RESTORE study

Results from a new major diabetes eye health study may have the potential to change the way vision loss due to diabetic macular edema, a serious and devastating complication of diabetes, is treated. One year results from the RESTORE study show that 37 per cent of patients treated with ranibizumab only and 43 per cent of those treated with ranibizumab plus laser therapy, had a significant improvement in visual acuity of 10 letters or more on an eye chart, compared to 16 per cent of patients treated with laser alone - the current standard treatment for visual impairment due to DME.

7 Jun 2010

Genentech reports results from Phase III study of Avastin in women with advanced ovarian cancer

Genentech, Inc., a wholly owned member of the Roche Group, today announced results from a Phase III study of Avastin (bevacizumab) that showed women with previously untreated advanced ovarian cancer who received Avastin in combination with chemotherapy, followed by the continuation of Avastin alone, had a 39 percent improvement in the likelihood of living longer without the disease worsening (progression-free survival or PFS) compared to chemotherapy alone.

7 Jun 2010

AMG 386 demonstrates antitumor activity in Phase 2 trial involving patients with recurrent ovarian cancer

Amgen today announced that AMG 386, combined with paclitaxel, demonstrated antitumor activity in a randomized Phase 2 trial involving 161 patients with recurrent ovarian cancer. The results are being presented for the first time in an oral presentation at the 2010 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

7 Jun 2010

Chronic insomnia increases mortality risk

Individuals with chronic insomnia have an elevated risk of death, according to a research abstract that will be presented Monday, June 7, 2010, in San Antonio, Texas, at SLEEP 2010, the 24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

7 Jun 2010

US dental school graduates not adequately prepared to screen for sleep disorders

According to new research that will be presented on Saturday, June 5, at the 19th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, the majority of U.S. dental schools have not adequately prepared their graduates to screen for sleep disorders, which affect more than 70 million adults in the U.S.

5 Jun 2010

Key regulator of fat cell differentiation identified

New research led by UCD Conway Fellow, Professor Johan Ericsson has identified a key regulator of fat cell differentiation that may be a novel target for obesity drugs. The results of the research are published in the current edition of the scientific journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

4 Jun 2010

Academic detailing technique may help doctors follow treatment guidelines

Researchers often get frustrated when doctors fail to adopt treatment guidelines backed by the best evidence-based research.

3 Jun 2010

Aspirin may not be beneficial for young adults with diabetes

Experts are now recommending that low-dose aspirin therapy to prevent heart attacks be used somewhat more conservatively - that men younger than 50 and women younger than 60, who have diabetes but no other major risk factors, probably not use aspirin.

2 Jun 2010

Men with ED are at increased risk of high CACS: Researchers

In the largest study to date evaluating erectile dysfunction and coronary artery calcification, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have determined that men with ED are at a significantly increased risk of high coronary artery calcification scores, a known predictor of future cardiovascular events.

2 Jun 2010

Over-the-counter supplements can cause hypertension and kidney failure

Negative health effects linked to taking too much supplemental calcium are on the rise, according to a commentary appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

2 Jun 2010

Race matching among donors and recipients has no effect on survival rates: Study

Transplant surgeons at Johns Hopkins who have reviewed the medical records of more than 20,000 heart transplant patients say that it is not simply racial differences, but rather flaws in the health care system, along with type of insurance and education levels, in addition to biological factors, that are likely the causes of disproportionately worse outcomes after heart transplantation in African Americans.

1 Jun 2010

Researchers identify pattern of gene expression in kidney transplant recipients who don't need anti-rejection drugs

Researchers have identified a distinct pattern of gene expression in the largest reported group of kidney transplant recipients who have not rejected the transplant kidneys even though they stopped taking anti-rejection drugs. This finding may help identify other transplant recipients who could safely reduce or end use of immunosuppressive therapy. In 2008, more than 80,000 people in the United States were living with a kidney transplant.

31 May 2010

Research roundup: Reform's impact on health spending; Cultural/Racial differences in medicine; Swine flu lessons

The Impact Of Health Reform On Health Spending - This issue brief "projects the effect of national reform on total national health expenditures and the insurance premiums that American families would likely pay. We estimate that, on net, the combination of provisions in the new law will reduce health care spending by $590 billion over 2010-2019 and lower premiums by nearly $2,000 per family.

29 May 2010

Consistent consumption of alcohol contributes to high blood pressure

High blood pressure is a leading cause of deaths in the world. Apart from millions with diagnosed hypertension, still many others are borderline hypertensive. High blood pressure increases the risk of a person to develop cardiovascular diseases, kidney problems, heart attack and even a stroke. One of the major contributors to high blood pressure is the consistent consumption of alcohol. Regular alcohol drinkers increase the risks of elevated blood pressure because it affects the normal functioning of the body by reversing what it needs to remain healthy.

28 May 2010

Cardiac biomarkers help nephrologists manage fluid overload in dialysis patients: Study

Nephrologists must consider fluid overload effects when prescribing dialysis, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The fluid overload biomarker, N-terminal pro-brain-type natriuretic peptide, previously known as a "cardiac biomarker" in dialysis patients, is an important component of managing patients with kidney disease.

28 May 2010

Rate of hypertension in the U.S. not decreased in recent years: JAMA

About 50 percent of patients with hypertension have adequate control of their blood pressure, meeting a goal of Healthy People 2010, but the rate of hypertension in the U.S. has not decreased in recent years, according to a study in the May 26 issue of JAMA.

27 May 2010

Good number of natural bypass vessels an 'insurance policy' against blockage

When the arteries delivering oxygen to our vital organs are obstructed by atherosclerosis or clots, the result is almost always a stroke, heart attack or damage to a peripheral tissue such as the legs (peripheral artery disease). But the severity of tissue injury or destruction from a choked-off blood supply varies from person to person, and may depend in large part on whose circulatory system has the best back-up plan to provide alternate routes of circulation.

26 May 2010

Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) News and Research

Further Reading

Form of epigenetics may play role in pulmonary arterial hypertension: Researchers

Vandetanib extends Progression Free Survival in ZETA phase III study for advanced medullary thyroid cancer

OXiGENE reports positive final data from Phase 1 study of OXi4503 in patients with solid tumors

Ranibizumab improves vision in patients with visual impairment due to DME: RESTORE study

Genentech reports results from Phase III study of Avastin in women with advanced ovarian cancer

AMG 386 demonstrates antitumor activity in Phase 2 trial involving patients with recurrent ovarian cancer

Chronic insomnia increases mortality risk

US dental school graduates not adequately prepared to screen for sleep disorders

Key regulator of fat cell differentiation identified

Academic detailing technique may help doctors follow treatment guidelines

Aspirin may not be beneficial for young adults with diabetes

Men with ED are at increased risk of high CACS: Researchers

Over-the-counter supplements can cause hypertension and kidney failure

Race matching among donors and recipients has no effect on survival rates: Study

Researchers identify pattern of gene expression in kidney transplant recipients who don't need anti-rejection drugs

Research roundup: Reform's impact on health spending; Cultural/Racial differences in medicine; Swine flu lessons

Consistent consumption of alcohol contributes to high blood pressure

Cardiac biomarkers help nephrologists manage fluid overload in dialysis patients: Study

Rate of hypertension in the U.S. not decreased in recent years: JAMA

Good number of natural bypass vessels an 'insurance policy' against blockage

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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