Scientists have discovered the type of gene, which leads to increased arterial pressure

Scientists from Medical College of Maryland University (USA) have discovered a subtype of already known gene, which activation in the organism leads to increased arterial pressure. According to the specialists, studying of STK39 gene will allow to see the problem of hypertension and methods of its treatment and diagnostics in a new sight.

STK39 gene contains protein, which plays a key role in the work of kidneys, or, to be more precise, in their control over salts in the organism. "This discovery has a serious potential for creation of promising personal methods of treatment, which will be applied differently in every single case, but for all hypertonic patients", - Yen Christy Chen, one of the authors of the study says.

She is sure that the origin of increased blood pressure in reality is very complicated and manifested by the whole range of both internal and external factors, which affect people.

However, the key role here still belongs to genetics."STK39 is just one of the genes that play a role in pressure regulation. On the one hand, we want to determine the way people with different variations of this gene response to these or those medications, for example, diuretics, and on the other, we want to study gene’s reaction for changing external conditions – diet, schedule of the day, decreased or increased time of the sleep", - she says.

Scientists say that hypertension is a rather dangerous disease, which at certain concurrence of circumstances leads to heart diseases, strokes, renal and hepatic diseases. According to different data, nowadays about a quarter of adult population of the Earth suffer from hypertension in a more or less evident form.

Chen says that STK39 gene is one of those selected few genes responsible regulation of salts and blood pressure, which is unique for people of any race or nationality. The majority of other "marker genes" vary due to the race.

Adopted from: EUROLAB