Elevated uric acid levels linked to high blood pressure
A new report has suggested that high uric acid levels could be linked to high blood pressure in teenagers.
The researchers from Texas Children's Hospital published their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In the study, 60 teenagers with newly diagnosed high blood pressure and elevated levels of uric acid in their blood were either treated with gout treatment allopurinol or a placebo.
Patients were given the drugs twice a day for four weeks. At this point, they stopped taking the medication for a fortnight, before continuing the treatment for a further four weeks.
It was found that allopurinol not only reduced uric acid levels, but that it also lowered blood pressure in most of the teens.
Overall, blood pressures decreased to normal in 20 of the 30 teens when they were on allopurinol - compared to just one of the young people given the placebo.
However, Dr Daniel Feig explained that existing gout treatments had side effects that meant they might not be appropriate for people with high blood pressure.
"This is far from being a reasonable therapeutic intervention for high blood pressure, but these findings indicate a first step in understanding the pathway of the disease," he explained.
"You cannot prevent a disease until you know the cause. This study is way of finding that out."
Recent related stories:
04 December 2008
03 December 2008
03 December 2008
02 December 2008
02 December 2008
02 December 2008
02 December 2008
RSS feed 