ScienceDaily
Your source for the latest research news
Follow Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Subscribe RSS Feeds Newsletters
New:
  • Unprecedented Glimpse of Merging Galaxies
  • Chimps Synchronize Their Steps Just Like Humans
  • Secrets of Namibia's Fairy Circles Demystified
  • Black Death Shaped Evolution of Immunity Genes
  • Methane-Eating 'Borgs' Taking Earth's Microbes
  • Pain Relief Without Side Effects and Addiction
  • Accounting For Dark Energy and Dark Matter
  • Meet the First Neanderthal Family
  • Physicists Confirm Hitch in Proton Structure
  • Five Hours' Sleep a Night: Disease Risk
advertisement
Follow all of ScienceDaily's latest research news and top science headlines!
Science News
from research organizations

1

2

Hypertension traced to source in brain, triggering new paradigm for hypertension treatment

Date:
December 17, 2012
Source:
Cornell University
Summary:
A new study traces hypertension to a newfound cellular source in the brain and shows that treatments targeting this area can reverse the disease.
Share:
FULL STORY

When the heart works too hard, the brain may be to blame, says new Cornell University research that is changing how scientists look at high blood pressure (hypertension). The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in November, traces hypertension to a newfound cellular source in the brain and shows that treatments targeting this area can reverse the disease.

advertisement

In what peer reviewers are calling "a new paradigm" for tackling the worldwide hypertension epidemic, this insight into its roots could give hope to the billion people it currently afflicts. Hypertension occurs when the force of blood against vessel walls grows strong enough to potentially cause such problems as heart attack, stroke and heart or kidney disease. The heart pumps harder, and often the hormone angiotensin-II (AngII) gets the pressure cooking by triggering nerve cells that constrict blood vessels.

"We knew the central nervous system orchestrates this process, and now we've found the conductor," said Robin Davisson, a professor of molecular physiology with a joint appointment at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine and Weill Cornell Medical College.

Two-thirds of Americans have hypertension, which is the leading cause of North America's No. 1 killer: heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Davisson's lab traced neurochemical signals back to endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the protein factory and stress-management control center in every cell. If something goes wrong in a cell, the ER activates processes to adapt to the stress. Long-term ER stress can cause chronic disease, and several stressors that ER responds to have been connected to hypertension. Davisson's lab found that high levels of AngII put stress on the ER, which responds by triggering the cascade of neural and hormonal signals that start hypertension.

But not just any cell's ER can conduct this complex orchestra. Those that can trigger the signal cascade are clustered near the bottom of the brain in a gate-like structure called the subfornical organ (SFO). Unlike most of the brain, the SFO hangs outside a protective barrier that keeps most circulating particles from entering the brain. The SFO can interact with particles like AngII that are too big to cross through and can also communicate with the brain's inner chambers.

This is good news for developing therapies -- because the SFO sits outside the barrier, it can be reached through such normal treatment routes as pills or injections rather than riskier brain procedures. Davisson's lab showed that treatments that inhibit ER stress in the SFO can completely stop AngII-based hypertension and lower blood pressure to normal levels.

"Our work provides the first evidence that higher levels of AngII cause ER stress in the SFO, that this causes hypertension, and that we can do something about it," said Davisson. "This finding may also suggest a role for ER stress in hypertension types that don't involve AngII, like some spontaneous or genetic forms."

Inspired by the paradigm shift that this study has sparked, the editors of the Journal of Clinical Investigation published a commentary concluding that this discovery "opens new avenues for investigation and may lead to new therapeutic approaches for this disease."

make a difference: sponsored opportunity

Story Source:

Materials provided by Cornell University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Colin N. Young, Xian Cao, Mallikarjuna R. Guruju, Joseph P. Pierce, Donald A. Morgan, Gang Wang, Costantino Iadecola, Allyn L. Mark, Robin L. Davisson. ER stress in the brain subfornical organ mediates angiotensin-dependent hypertension. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2012; 122 (11): 3960 DOI: 10.1172/JCI64583

Cite This Page:

  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
Cornell University. "Hypertension traced to source in brain, triggering new paradigm for hypertension treatment." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 December 2012. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121217170950.htm>.
Cornell University. (2012, December 17). Hypertension traced to source in brain, triggering new paradigm for hypertension treatment. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 21, 2022 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121217170950.htm
Cornell University. "Hypertension traced to source in brain, triggering new paradigm for hypertension treatment." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121217170950.htm (accessed October 21, 2022).

  • RELATED TOPICS
    • Health & Medicine
      • Hypertension
      • Heart Disease
      • Stroke Prevention
      • Brain Tumor
    • Mind & Brain
      • Intelligence
      • Brain Injury
      • Stress
      • Disorders and Syndromes
advertisement

  • RELATED TERMS
    • Hypertension
    • Parkinson's disease
    • Chemotherapy
    • Biochemistry
    • Electroencephalography
    • Stem cell treatments
    • Deep brain stimulation
    • Decade Volcanoes
advertisement

  Print   Email   Share

advertisement

1

2

3

4

5
Most Popular
this week

HEALTH & MEDICINE
Eating Late Increases Hunger, Decreases Calories Burned, and Changes Fat Tissue
Clusters of Genes Help Mice Live Longer
Study of Over 5 Million People's DNA Reveals Genetic Links to Height
MIND & BRAIN
Dogs Can Smell When We're Stressed, Study Suggests
Human Brain Cells in a Dish Learn to Play Pong in Real Time
Healthy Aging Requires an Understanding of Personality Types
LIVING & WELL
Did the Pandemic Change Our Personalities?
Five Hours' Sleep a Night Linked to Higher Risk of Multiple Diseases
Too Much Motivation Affects Our Decision-Making
advertisement

Strange & Offbeat
 

HEALTH & MEDICINE
RNA Origami Enables Applications in Synthetic Biology
Unlocking the Power of Our Emotional Memory
Robotic Drug Capsule Can Deliver Drugs to Gut
MIND & BRAIN
Our Brains Use Quantum Computation
Human Brain Cells in a Dish Learn to Play Pong in Real Time
Dogs Can Smell When We're Stressed, Study Suggests
LIVING & WELL
Researchers Develop Painless Tattoos That Can Be Self-Administered
Washing Dishes With Superheated Steam More Effective, Earth-Friendly
News Addiction Linked to Not Only Poor Mental Wellbeing but Physical Health Too, New Study Shows
Explore More
from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES

A Consistent Lack of Sleep Negatively Impacts Immune Stem Cells, Increasing Risk of Inflammatory Disorders and Heart Disease
Sep. 21, 2022 — Chronic, insufficient sleep can negatively affect immune cells, which may lead to inflammatory disorders and cardiovascular disease, according to a new study. More specifically, consistently losing ...
Mechanism Underlying Cancer Cells' Immune Evasion
Aug. 27, 2020 — Researchers have discovered how brain cancer cells increase production of a key protein that allows them to evade the body's immune system. The study suggests that targeting this cellular pathway ...
'Love Hormone' Oxytocin Could Be Used to Treat Cognitive Disorders Like Alzheimer's
July 20, 2020 — Alzheimer's disease progressively degrades a person's memory and cognitive abilities, often resulting in dementia. Amid efforts to find novel treatments for this disease, a recent breakthrough study ...
Nanoparticles May Cause DNA Damage to Brain Cells Across a Cellular Barrier
Apr. 4, 2018 — New research by scientists shows that when cellular barriers are exposed to metal nanoparticles, cellular messengers are released that may cause damage to the DNA of developing brain cells. The ...
advertisement


SD
  • SD
    • Home Page
    • Top Science News
    • Latest News
  • Home
    • Home Page
    • Top Science News
    • Latest News
  • Health
    • View all the latest top news in the health sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Health & Medicine
      • Allergy
      • Alternative Medicine
      • Birth Control
      • Cancer
      • Diabetes
      • Diseases
      • Heart Disease
      • HIV and AIDS
      • Obesity
      • Stem Cells
      • ... more topics
      Mind & Brain
      • ADD and ADHD
      • Addiction
      • Alzheimer's
      • Autism
      • Depression
      • Headaches
      • Intelligence
      • Psychology
      • Relationships
      • Schizophrenia
      • ... more topics
      Living Well
      • Parenting
      • Pregnancy
      • Sexual Health
      • Skin Care
      • Men's Health
      • Women's Health
      • Nutrition
      • Diet and Weight Loss
      • Fitness
      • Healthy Aging
      • ... more topics
  • Tech
    • View all the latest top news in the physical sciences & technology,
      or browse the topics below:
      Matter & Energy
      • Aviation
      • Chemistry
      • Electronics
      • Fossil Fuels
      • Nanotechnology
      • Physics
      • Quantum Physics
      • Solar Energy
      • Technology
      • Wind Energy
      • ... more topics
      Space & Time
      • Astronomy
      • Black Holes
      • Dark Matter
      • Extrasolar Planets
      • Mars
      • Moon
      • Solar System
      • Space Telescopes
      • Stars
      • Sun
      • ... more topics
      Computers & Math
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Communications
      • Computer Science
      • Hacking
      • Mathematics
      • Quantum Computers
      • Robotics
      • Software
      • Video Games
      • Virtual Reality
      • ... more topics
  • Enviro
    • View all the latest top news in the environmental sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Plants & Animals
      • Agriculture and Food
      • Animals
      • Biology
      • Biotechnology
      • Endangered Animals
      • Extinction
      • Genetically Modified
      • Microbes and More
      • New Species
      • Zoology
      • ... more topics
      Earth & Climate
      • Climate
      • Earthquakes
      • Environment
      • Geography
      • Geology
      • Global Warming
      • Hurricanes
      • Ozone Holes
      • Pollution
      • Weather
      • ... more topics
      Fossils & Ruins
      • Ancient Civilizations
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • Dinosaurs
      • Early Humans
      • Early Mammals
      • Evolution
      • Lost Treasures
      • Origin of Life
      • Paleontology
      • ... more topics
  • Society
    • View all the latest top news in the social sciences & education,
      or browse the topics below:
      Science & Society
      • Arts & Culture
      • Consumerism
      • Economics
      • Political Science
      • Privacy Issues
      • Public Health
      • Racial Disparity
      • Religion
      • Sports
      • World Development
      • ... more topics
      Business & Industry
      • Biotechnology & Bioengineering
      • Computers & Internet
      • Energy & Resources
      • Engineering
      • Medical Technology
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Transportation
      • ... more topics
      Education & Learning
      • Animal Learning & Intelligence
      • Creativity
      • Educational Psychology
      • Educational Technology
      • Infant & Preschool Learning
      • Learning Disorders
      • STEM Education
      • ... more topics
  • Quirky
    • Top News
    • Human Quirks
    • Odd Creatures
    • Bizarre Things
    • Weird World
Free Subscriptions

Get the latest science news with ScienceDaily's free email newsletters, updated daily and weekly. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader:

  • Email Newsletters
  • RSS Feeds
Follow Us

Keep up to date with the latest news from ScienceDaily via social networks:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Have Feedback?

Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Have any problems using the site? Questions?

  • Leave Feedback
  • Contact Us
About This Site  |  Staff  |  Reviews  |  Contribute  |  Advertise  |  Privacy Policy  |  Editorial Policy  |  Terms of Use
Copyright 1995-2022 ScienceDaily or by other parties, where indicated. All rights controlled by their respective owners.
Content on this website is for information only. It is not intended to provide medical or other professional advice.
Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily, its staff, its contributors, or its partners.
Financial support for ScienceDaily comes from advertisements and referral programs, where indicated.
— CCPA: Do Not Sell My Information — GDPR: Privacy Settings —