Friday, December 28, 2007

C-reactive protein identified as risk factor for hypertension

C-reactive protein (CRP), widely regarded as a risk factor for hypertension and other forms of cardiovascular disease, plays a direct role within the onset of hypertension, according to researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.


"We hold discovered that CRP is not merely a marker of the risk of hypertension, it truly induces hypertension," said Dr. Wanpen Vongpatanasin, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine.


Clinical studies over the past decade own suggested that chronically elevated levels of CRP indicate inflammation that puts an individual at risk for hypertension and other cardiovascular ailments such as harden of the arteries.


The researchers also discovered that the initiating mechanism is a deficiency of the key signaling molecule nitric oxide in the artery wall that have multiple beneficial roles in the cardiovascular system; they also made a nouns between nitric oxide and the proteins responsible for angiotensin II activity.


The classic goal of the research is to discover how CRP interacts near molecules in the arterial wall, main to a better understanding of hypertension and pointing to brand new ways to treat it, Dr. Vongpatanasin said.


"We have uncovered a series of mechanism that link a circulating factor that rises next to chronic inflammation, obesity, and aging to the regulation of blood pressure," said Dr. Philip Shaul, Professor of Pediatrics at the university.


"Doing so provides a topical perspective on how these conditions have a glum impact on cardiovascular health."

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