A New Way Of Controlling Blood Pressure
Feb 10, 2009 by Mike
One in every four adults has high blood pressure and even though powerful drugs are already available few if any of them manage to achieve target blood pressure levels.
Until now oxidation had largely been considered a harmful rather than a good thing and free radicals and oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide can indeed cause cell damage.
However they also play crucial roles in normal cell function!
U.K. scientists recently discovered that oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide cause a bond to form between two amino acids which in turn activate PKG (Protein kinase G) thereby causing a lowering of blood pressure.
Protein kinase G (PKG) is an important protein found in all tissues but in the cardiovascular system it plays a fundamental role in blood pressure regulation and the nitric oxide produced within the blood vessels is known to be crucial to this process.
Now however, Joseph Burgoyne and his colleagues at King's College have found a new way by which the protein PKG can be regulated independently of the nitric oxide!
The team's discovery opens up the very real likelihood of new drugs that will combat high blood pressure in the very near future.
Dr Philip Eaton who led the King's team, said, "The research should lead to the development of drugs which activate this new pathway".
Professor Jeremy Pearson, who is the 'Associate Medical Director' of the 'British Heart Foundation' that funded the research, said, "This research is exciting. Firstly, the team's novel discovery opens up opportunities for the design of new drugs to combat high blood pressure. Secondly, the mechanism provides new insights into how oxidant stress affects cells and tissues. Oxidant stress not only alters blood flow, but also affects the heart's ability to contract and is involved in a wide variety of inflammatory conditions".