Researchers have identified a potential breakthrough treatment for a specific form of high blood pressure affecting millions of people worldwide. The drug, baxdrostat, operates as an aldosterone synthase inhibitor and works by suppressing a hormone that causes the kidneys to retain salt, thereby raising blood pressure.
A small clinical study tracked 14 patients whose hypertension improved significantly during an initial three-month trial. These patients continued taking the daily medication for six to 12 months before discontinuing treatment. Follow-up assessments conducted up to two years later revealed that blood pressure remained lower in these patients, with just under a quarter achieving completely normal blood pressure without any hypertension medications. Results from this research were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Primary aldosteronism, caused by benign growths on the adrenal glands that overproduce the hormone aldosterone, accounts for 5 to 10% of hypertension cases. More than a billion people worldwide experience high blood pressure, with over 12 million cases in the UK. Traditionally, surgical removal of the affected adrenal gland has been the standard treatment approach, though this does not always fully resolve hypertension when other contributing factors are present.
Baxdrostat received approval in the US earlier this year for patients whose hypertension remains uncontrolled by existing medications. The drug is currently undergoing assessment by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, with potential NHS availability expected next year. Researchers theorize the drug may produce lasting effects by triggering the destruction of cells that produce excessive aldosterone, though larger trials are planned to confirm whether this curative effect occurs consistently across broader patient populations.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI