According to estimates by the World Health Organization, hypertension causes about 7.5 million deaths each year , that is, approximately 12.8% of all deaths that occur on the planet.
The discovery of 31 new genes involved in blood pressure has significantly increased the catalog of genes related to hypertension or high blood pressure. Among them, three genes appear to have a huge effect on blood pressure compared to other previously known genes.
The researchers, led by Queen Mary University of London and the University of Cambridge (UK), used genetic data and medical records from more than 347,000 adult women from different countries (UK, Sweden, Finland, USA, Pakistan. .) identifying 31 new genetic regions related to blood pressure. Both healthy people and those with diabetes, hypertension or coronary artery disease participated in the study.
The discovery includes DNA alterations in three specific genes, whose effects on blood pressure are greater ( twice ) than those observed in previously discovered genes.
One of those three new genes is RBM47 , which codes for an RNA-modifying protein. Another, called RRAS , is involved in cell cycle processes, and the third is COL21A1 , which is involved in the formation of collagen in many tissues of the body.
” This could even reveal drugs that are already on the market, but can now be used as potential drugs to treat hypertension, ” explains Patricia Munroe, co-author of the work.
The study has been published in Nature Genetics.
