Hope for hundreds of thousands with ‘untreatable’ high blood pressure as scientists find ‘exciting’ drug that could help
Baxdrostat prevents the production of aldosterone – which helps regulate salt in the body
Approximately 248 patients with ‘treatment resistant’ high blood pressure were involved
Patients received either placebo or various doses of the drug for 12 weeks
<!–
<!–
<!– <!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
Hundreds of thousands of people with untreatable high blood pressure could benefit from a new drug, a trial suggests.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is one of the world’s most common conditions, affecting about a third of British and half of American adults.
In recent years, it has become clear that between five and ten percent of these people do not respond to traditional blood pressure medication, and their condition does not improve.
But researchers now think they’ve discovered a drug that could “significantly reduce” hypertension in this group — and therefore “provide hope” for hundreds of thousands of people.
Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and colleagues from US pharmaceutical company CinCor examined whether patients would benefit from taking a drug called Baxdrostat. Baxdrostat works by stopping the body from making aldosterone – a hormone that helps regulate the amount of salt in the body
Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and colleagues from US pharmaceutical company CinCor examined whether patients would benefit from taking a drug called Baxdrostat.
Baxdrostat works by stopping the body from making aldosterone, a hormone that helps keep salt in the body.
People who produce too much aldosterone get an imbalance, which in turn raises blood pressure.
As part of the study, 248 patients with ‘treatment-resistant’ high blood pressure were given either a dummy drug — also called a placebo — or different doses of the drug for 12 weeks.
The team found that people given the highest dose saw their blood pressure drop by an average of 20 points — enough to move participants with high blood pressure out of the “dangerous” zone and back into the normal range.
“The results of this first drug of its kind are exciting, although more testing is needed before we can make comparisons with existing drugs,” said Professor Morris Brown, co-senior author of the study and professor of endocrine hypertension at the University of California. . Queen Mary University of London.
“But Baxdrostat may offer hope to many people who are not responding to traditional hypertension treatment.
“The effectiveness of older drugs in individual patients can vary considerably, while a feature of this new class is that it can be predicted to work well in those patients whose aldosterone hormone has made them resistant to older treatments.”
High blood pressure is the leading cause of strokes and a common cause of heart attacks and kidney failure.
In most people with the condition, the cause is unknown and requires lifelong treatment with medications.
The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions conference in the US.
The post Hope for hundreds of thousands with ‘untreatable’ high blood pressure appeared first on WhatsNew2Day.