High blood pressure, or hypertension, occurs when the pressure in the body's blood vessels is higher than what is considered normal. Left untreated, it increases the risk of stroke, heart attack, and kidney disease.
High blood pressure is a common condition currently treated with preventive medications.
However, some individuals have high blood pressure that does not respond well to medical treatment. Resistant hypertension (RHT) is high blood pressure that does not improve after treatment with at least three different blood pressure medications.
May find a new drug for resistant hypertension
With funding from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, researcher Lise Moltzau and colleagues are testing the effectiveness of a potential new drug for RHT. Their aim is to demonstrate that the drug can have a therapeutic effect on high blood pressure.
"RHT affects a large number of people and leads to serious illness and premature death," Moltzau, a researcher at the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Oslo, says.
"New drugs that can help these patients will have great societal value and positive clinical implications for millions of people worldwide," she adds.
Enhancing the body's natural mechanism for lowering blood pressure
An important mechanism in our body related to blood pressure is the natriuretic peptide system, responsible for regulating our blood pressure and fluid balance.
The system consists of specific hormones known as natriuretic peptides. When the heart experiences increased pressure, as in high blood pressure, it will produce and release these natriuretic peptides.
These peptides help to lower blood pressure, reduce excess fluid in the body, and maintain fluid balance.
Moltzau and her colleagues aim to find drugs that can enhance this system.
Hope to demonstrate therapeutic effect in living models
The researchers have previously identified and tested between 200 to 300 substances.
"Our goal has been to find substances that can enhance the blood pressure-lowering effect of natriuretic peptides that already exist naturally in our bodies," Moltzau says.
The researchers have tested the many identified substances in cell models and tissues with promising results. The next step is to demonstrate that the most promising substance can have a therapeutic effect on high blood pressure in a living model.
"In this project, we want to test our leading candidate in a rat model, to determine whether the substance can actually lower blood pressure in rats," she explains.
A collaborative project
In addition to Moltzau, researcher Ana Calejo will conduct the animal studies. Professors Finn Olav Levy, Alessandro Cataliotti, and Jo Klaveness from UiO, as well as Aina Rengmark from Inven2, are also part of the research team.