hypertension tagged posts

Natural Barometer Inside Cells Helps Maintain Healthy Blood Pressure. University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers have determined the location of natural blood-pressure barometers inside our bodies that have eluded scientists for more than 60 years.

These cellular sensors detect subtle changes in blood pressure and adjust hormone levels to keep it in check. Scientists have long suspected that these barometers, or “baroreceptors,” existed in specialized kidney cells called renin cells, but no one has been able to locate the baroreceptors until now.

The new findings, from ...

Brown fat is that magical tissue that you would want more of. Unlike white fat, which stores calories, brown fat burns energy and scientists hope it may hold the key to new obesity treatments. But it has long been unclear whether people with ample brown fat truly enjoy better health. For one thing, it has been hard to even identify such individuals since brown fat is hidden deep inside the body.

Now, a new study in Nature Medicine offers strong evidence: among over 52,000 participants, those who had detectable brown fat were less likely than their peers to suffer cardiac and metabo...

Ridlon and endocrinologist David Morris explain the mechanism that links gut bacteria to hypertension in humans.

1 in 3 American adults suffers from high blood pressure, or hypertension. The disease can be passed down in families, and certain lifestyle factors such as smoking, high-sodium diets, and stress can increase the risk. In recent years, scientists have discovered that certain gut bacteria may contribute to hypertension, as well. In a few studies, when gut bacteria were killed off with antibiotics, patients with hypertension saw a drop in blood pressure. And when gut bacteria were transplanted from hypertensive people into normal mice, they developed high blood pressure...

Eosinophils stimulate β3 adrenoreceptors through the release of soluble factors.

Immune cells which are reduced in number by obesity could be a new target to treat diseases such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension that affect overweight people, according to a collaborative study between The University of Manchester, Lund University and the University of Salford. In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, reseachers investigated eosinophils. Eosinophils are present in perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), which surrounds blood vessels and helps to maintain normal blood vessel function by reducing artery contraction.

The current research found that eosinophils were considerably reduced in the PVAT in obesity in mice, and that the PVAT function was severely impaired, contributing ...