<p>In a finding that may lead to improved treatments for hypertension and heart failure, scientists have uncovered a new pathway through which the brain uses a little-known steroid to control blood pressure.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"This research gives us an entirely new way of understanding how the brain and the cardio-vascular system work together," said co-principal author John Hamlyn, a professor of physiology at the University of Maryland' School of Medicine in the US.<br /><br />For decades, researchers have known that the brain controls the diameter of the arteries via the nervous system. The system is essential for daily life, but is often chronically over-active in patients with high blood pressure. In fact, many drugs that help with hypertension work by decreasing the activity of the nervous system.<br /><br />However, these drugs have serious side-effects, such as fatigue, dizziness, depression and erectile dysfunction. These drawbacks have led to the search for novel ways to inhibit the nervous system while causing fewer problems for patients.<br />Working with an animal model of hyper-tension, a group of scientists found a new link between the brain and increased blood pressure, namely, a steroid called ouabain.<br /><br />This is the first such study to identify a particular pathway by which the brain regulates the diameter of the arteries via ouabain in the bloodstream and causes an increase in contractile proteins in the arteries.<br /><br />This new pathway works together with the nervous system pathway to control the function of arteries and thereby contributes to high blood pressure.<br /><br />So medications that block ouabain's effects might improve the lives of people with hyper-tension and heart failure.<br /><br />"Now that we understand the role of ouabain, we can begin working on how to modify this new pathway to help people with cardio-vascular problems," explained co-researcher Mordecai Blaustein, a professor of physiology and medicine at the University of Maryland' School of Medicine.<br /><br />The study appeared in the journal PLOS One.</p>
<p>In a finding that may lead to improved treatments for hypertension and heart failure, scientists have uncovered a new pathway through which the brain uses a little-known steroid to control blood pressure.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"This research gives us an entirely new way of understanding how the brain and the cardio-vascular system work together," said co-principal author John Hamlyn, a professor of physiology at the University of Maryland' School of Medicine in the US.<br /><br />For decades, researchers have known that the brain controls the diameter of the arteries via the nervous system. The system is essential for daily life, but is often chronically over-active in patients with high blood pressure. In fact, many drugs that help with hypertension work by decreasing the activity of the nervous system.<br /><br />However, these drugs have serious side-effects, such as fatigue, dizziness, depression and erectile dysfunction. These drawbacks have led to the search for novel ways to inhibit the nervous system while causing fewer problems for patients.<br />Working with an animal model of hyper-tension, a group of scientists found a new link between the brain and increased blood pressure, namely, a steroid called ouabain.<br /><br />This is the first such study to identify a particular pathway by which the brain regulates the diameter of the arteries via ouabain in the bloodstream and causes an increase in contractile proteins in the arteries.<br /><br />This new pathway works together with the nervous system pathway to control the function of arteries and thereby contributes to high blood pressure.<br /><br />So medications that block ouabain's effects might improve the lives of people with hyper-tension and heart failure.<br /><br />"Now that we understand the role of ouabain, we can begin working on how to modify this new pathway to help people with cardio-vascular problems," explained co-researcher Mordecai Blaustein, a professor of physiology and medicine at the University of Maryland' School of Medicine.<br /><br />The study appeared in the journal PLOS One.</p>