The brain and not the heart is responsible for high blood pressure, according to new research.
Scientists from Bristol University suggested the brain plays an important factor in causing hypertension. They claim that a protein found in the brain’s blood vessels is restricting oxygen supply and therefore inducing hypertension.
According to researchers – JAM-1(junctional adhesion molecule-1) protein is located in the walls of blood vessels in the brain and traps white blood cells called leukocytes. When the leukocytes get trapped they can cause inflammation and can obstruct blood flow. Patients will experience a low oxygen supply to the brain.
If this research stands true, it would mean high blood pressure being classified as an inflammatory vascular disease of the brain rather than heart.
In the present time, one in three UK residents is likely to develop hypertension at some point in their lives, with more than 600 million people across the world affected.
The University of Bristol scientists write that these statistics give high blood pressure a “pandemic” status, and they warn that 60 per cent of patients remain hypertensive despite receiving medication to alleviate symptoms, which include an increased risk of strokes and heart attacks.
“We are looking at the possibility of treating those patients that fail to respond to conventional therapy for hypertension with drugs that reduce blood vessel inflammation and increase blood flow within the brain,” explained Professor Julian Paton.
The future challenge will be to understand the type of inflammation within the vessels in the brain, so that we know what drug to use, and how to target them. Jam-1 could provide us with new clues as to how to deal with this disease.
Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director of the British Heart Foundation said that the study was exciting because it suggests there are unexpected causes of high blood pressure related to blood supply to the brain. It therefore opens up the possibility of new ways to treat this common, but often poorly managed, condition.
Via : BBC NEWS