A system view and analysis of essential hypertension

Dry eye rate and its relationship with disease stage in patients with primary hypertension: a cross-sectional study in Vietnam

AIM

To determine the dry eye (DE) rate and its relationship with disease stage in patients with primary hypertension.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study included 432 patients with primary hypertension (with an equal number of patients in each group: 144 in stage I, II, and III hypertension) and 144 healthy subjects as a control group. The Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and Schirmer I test without anesthetics were conducted on all 576 subjects. Subjects with OSDI scores <13 and Schirmer I values equal to or under 10 mm were diagnosed with DE.

RESULTS

The ratio of DE in hypertension patients was higher than in the control group (41.7% versus 18.8%; P<0.001). The proportion of patients with DE increased gradually according to the hypertension stage: 27.1% in stage I, 40.3% in stage II, and 57.6% in stage III, P<0.001. Age, duration of hypertension, plasma urea, creatinine, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP-hs) levels in hypertension patients with DE were higher than those without DE, P<0.001. Advanced age, a long duration of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, elevated plasma creatinine, and CRP-hs levels were independent factors associated with DE in primary hypertension patients, P<0.001.

CONCLUSION

DE is a common disorder associated with advanced age, a long duration of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, elevated plasma CRP-hs, and creatinine levels in patients with primary hypertension.

Protein-protein interaction network-based integration of GWAS and functional data for blood pressure regulation analysis

BACKGROUND

It is valuable to analyze the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) data for a complex disease phenotype in the context of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, as the related pathophysiology results from the function of interacting polyprotein pathways. The analysis may include the design and curation of a phenotype-specific GWAS meta-database incorporating genotypic and eQTL data linking to PPI and other biological datasets, and the development of systematic workflows for PPI network-based data integration toward protein and pathway prioritization. Here, we pursued this analysis for blood pressure (BP) regulation.

METHODS

The relational scheme of the implemented in Microsoft SQL Server BP-GWAS meta-database enabled the combined storage of: GWAS data and attributes mined from GWAS Catalog and the literature, Ensembl-defined SNP-transcript associations, and GTEx eQTL data. The BP-protein interactome was reconstructed from the PICKLE PPI meta-database, extending the GWAS-deduced network with the shortest paths connecting all GWAS-proteins into one component. The shortest-path intermediates were considered as BP-related. For protein prioritization, we combined a new integrated GWAS-based scoring scheme with two network-based criteria: one considering the protein role in the reconstructed by shortest-path (RbSP) interactome and one novel promoting the common neighbors of GWAS-prioritized proteins. Prioritized proteins were ranked by the number of satisfied criteria.

RESULTS

The meta-database includes 6687 variants linked with 1167 BP-associated protein-coding genes. The GWAS-deduced PPI network includes 1065 proteins, with 672 forming a connected component. The RbSP interactome contains 1443 additional, network-deduced proteins and indicated that essentially all BP-GWAS proteins are at most second neighbors. The prioritized BP-protein set was derived from the union of the most BP-significant by any of the GWAS-based or the network-based criteria. It included 335 proteins, with ~ 2/3 deduced from the BP PPI network extension and 126 prioritized by at least two criteria. ESR1 was the only protein satisfying all three criteria, followed in the top-10 by INSR, PTN11, CDK6, CSK, NOS3, SH2B3, ATP2B1, FES and FINC, satisfying two. Pathway analysis of the RbSP interactome revealed numerous bioprocesses, which are indeed functionally supported as BP-associated, extending our understanding about BP regulation.

CONCLUSIONS

The implemented workflow could be used for other multifactorial diseases.

Network medicine: an approach to complex kidney disease phenotypes

Scientific reductionism has been the basis of disease classification and understanding for more than a century. However, the reductionist approach of characterizing diseases from a limited set of clinical observations and laboratory evaluations has proven insufficient in the face of an exponential growth in data generated from transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and deep phenotyping. A new systematic method is necessary to organize these datasets and build new definitions of what constitutes a disease that incorporates both biological and environmental factors to more precisely describe the ever-growing complexity of phenotypes and their underlying molecular determinants. Network medicine provides such a conceptual framework to bridge these vast quantities of data while providing an individualized understanding of disease. The modern application of network medicine principles is yielding new insights into the pathobiology of chronic kidney diseases and renovascular disorders by expanding the understanding of pathogenic mediators, novel biomarkers and new options for renal therapeutics. These efforts affirm network medicine as a robust paradigm for elucidating new advances in the diagnosis and treatment of kidney disorders.

Insulin resistance-related differences in the relationship between left ventricular hypertrophy and cardiorespiratory fitness in hypertensive Black sub-Saharan Africans

BACKGROUND

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is associated with impaired cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), a surrogate marker of poor outcome. Insulin resistance (IR) plays a central role in all stages of cardiovascular disease continuum. This study evaluates IR-related differences in the relationship between left ventricular mass (LVM) and CRF in asymptomatic newly diagnosed hypertensive Black sub-Saharan Africans.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional observational study, 126 asymptomatic newly diagnosed hypertensive participants (50.5 ± 9.5 years) underwent comprehensive resting transthoracic echocardiographic examination and maximal incremental cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). CRF was estimated in maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max). CPET results were compared between participants with and without LVH. Multivariate analysis examined the influence of IR on the observed differences.

RESULTS

Those with LVH had lower VO2max (15.7 ± 5.5 mL min^-1 kg^-1 vs. 18.4 ± 3.7 mL min^-1 kg^-1; P = 0.001) than those without LVH. In patients with IR, LVM (r = -0.261, P = 0.012), LVM indexed to body surface area (LVMIbsa; r = -0.229, P = 0.027), and LVM indexed to height to an allometric power of 2.7 (LVMIh^2.7; r = -0.351, P = 0.001), and VO2max were negatively correlated. In hypertensive patients without IR, these same parameters and VO2max have no significant correlation. Body mass index (BMI), LVM, and LVMIbsa emerged as independent determinants of VO2max, explaining 46.9% of its variability (overall P = 0.001) in IR participants, a relationship not found in participants without IR.

CONCLUSIONS

IR may participate in the deterioration of CRF associated with LVH. Measures to improve insulin sensitivity should be considered for improving CRF and therefore the prognosis of insulin-resistant hypertensive patients. Targeting IR in hypertensive patients with LVH could improve prognosis.

Renal function in patients following a low carbohydrate diet for type 2 diabetes: a review of the literature and analysis of routine clinical data from a primary care service over 7 years

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

People with T2 Diabetes (T2D) who follow a low carbohydrate diet (LCD) may increase their dietary protein intake. Dietary protein can modulate renal function so there is debate about its role in renal disease. There is concern that higher protein intakes may promote renal damage, and that LCDs themselves may impact on cardiovascular risk. We review the evidence around LCDs, renal and cardiovascular risk factors and compare to results obtained in a real-world, primary care setting.

RECENT FINDINGS

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a well-recognised microvascular complication of T2D caused in part by; chronically increased glomerular pressure, hyperfiltration, increased blood pressure and advanced glycation end products. Hyperglycemia can be seen as central to all of these factors. A LCD is an effective first step in its correction as we demonstrate in our real-world cohort.

SUMMARY

We found evidence that LCDs for people with T2D may improve many renal and cardiovascular risk factors. In our own LCD cohort of 143 patients with normal renal function or only mild CKD, over an average of 30 months the serum creatinine improved by a significant mean of 4.7 (14.9) μmol/L. What remains to be shown is the effect of the approach on people with T2D and moderate/severe CKD.

Adapting Medication for Type 2 Diabetes to a Low Carbohydrate Diet

Healthcare professionals in the primary care setting need to be competent to safely adapt diabetes medications when patients with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) alter their diet. Safe prescribing practice is supported through an understanding of the clinical evidence, basic science, and pharmacology of medications. This review article supports clinicians in the practical application of this knowledge to achieve safe practice. Traditional medical training and clinical practice for chronic disease has long revolved around the teaching of intensifying therapy and evidenced based prescribing, a crucial skill when chronic disease progresses. Now that we are witnessing remission of Type 2 Diabetes through nutritional interventions specifically low carbohydrate diets (LCD) we must apply the same effort and thought to de-prescribing as the underlying metabolic condition improves. There is minimal guidance in the literature on how to actively de-prescribe. The American Diabetes Association in their Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes–2021 acknowledges low carbohydrate nutritional therapy (LCD) as a viable option in the management of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). Thus, the goal of our paper is to help close the gap between the clinical evidence, basic science, and pharmacology of T2D medications to the practical application and teamwork needed to facilitate safe medication reduction in the primary care setting when applied to a LCD. The LCD is an increasingly popular and effective option for managing T2D and can lead to an improvement in the condition, reduced medication burden, and contribute to significant weight loss. Safe initiation of a LCD in patients on medications requires significant monitoring and medication adjustments to decrease and eliminate the risk of hypoglycemia and hypotension. The health care team including clinicians in primary care, nursing, pharmacy and nutrition need to be competent in adjusting diabetes and antihypertensive medications to achieve safe and effective care. The most immediate and important adjustments are to insulin, sulfonylureas, SGLT2 inhibitors, blood pressure medications and diuretics. Interdisciplinary care teams can individualize therapy while following the guidance, which includes monitoring blood glucose and blood pressure closely, decreasing medications that can cause hypoglycaemia and hypotension, evaluating blood glucose and blood pressure data responses regularly, and open access communication with the team. The article is an international consensus document on de-prescribing that was put together by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians.

Blood Pressure Regulation Evolved from Basic Homeostatic Components

Blood pressure (BP) is determined by several physiological factors that are regulated by a range of complex neural, endocrine, and paracrine mechanisms. This study examined a collection of 198 human genes related to BP regulation, in the biological processes and functional prisms, as well as gene expression in organs and tissues. This was made in conjunction with an orthology analysis performed in 19 target organisms along the phylogenetic tree. We have demonstrated that transport and signaling, as well as homeostasis in general, are the most prevalent biological processes associated with BP gene orthologs across the examined species. We showed that these genes and their orthologs are expressed primarily in the kidney and adrenals of complex organisms (e.g., high order vertebrates) and in the nervous system of low complexity organisms (e.g., flies, nematodes). Furthermore, we have determined that basic functions such as ion transport are ancient and appear in all organisms, while more complex regulatory functions, such as control of extracellular volume emerged in high order organisms. Thus, we conclude that the complex system of BP regulation evolved from simpler components that were utilized to maintain specific homeostatic functions that play key roles in existence and survival of organisms.

Ethanolic Extract of Salvia hispanica L. Regulates Blood Pressure by Modulating the Expression of Genes Involved in BP-Regulatory Pathways

Hypertension (HT) is considered to be a potential risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and has been directly related to pathologies such as obesity and dyslipidemias. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) blocked the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone cascade diminishing the production of angiotensin II and the level of bradykinin, produced by the kallikrein-kinin system. Although ACEIs are effective therapeutics in regulating HT, they present several side-effects that can be due to their mechanism of action (as hypotension, cough, dizziness, light-headedness or hyperkalemia) to specific drug molecular structure (skin rash, neutropenia and tasting disorders) or due to associated pathologies in the patients (it has been considered a possible nephrotoxic effect when ACEIs are administered in combination with angiotensin receptor blockers, in patients that present comorbidities as diabetes, acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease). Therefore, it is necessary the searching for new products with ACEI activity that do not produce side effects. Interestingly, species of the plant genus Salvia have been found to possess hypotensive effects. In the present study, we analyzed the effects of the ethanolic extract of Salvia hispanica L. seeds (EESH) on the expression of genes involved in pathways regulating HT. Administration of EESH to hypertensive rats inhibited the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity along with a decrease in Ace and elevation of Agtr1a and Nos3 gene expression, as compared to that in healthy rats. Moreover, these results were similar to those observed with captopril, an antihypertensive drug used as a control. No significant change in the expression of Bdkrb2 gene was observed in the different groups of rats. To conclude, our results demonstrate that EESH regulates blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive rats through transcriptionally regulating the expression of genes that participate in different pathways involving ACE.

Iatrogenic hypertension: a bioinformatic analysis

It is well known that a myriad of medications and substances can induce side effects that are related to blood pressure (BP) regulation. This study aims to investigate why certain drugs tend to cause iatrogenic hypertension (HTN) and focus on drug targets that are implicated in these conditions.Databases and resources such as SIDER, DrugBank, and Genomatix were utilized in order to bioinformatically investigate HTN-associated drug target-genes for which HTN is a side effect. A tree-like map was created, representing interactions between 198 human genes that relate to the blood pressure system. 72 HTN indicated drugs and 160 HTN-inducing drugs were investigated. HTN-associated genes affected by these drugs were identified. HTN indicated drugs, which target nearly all branches of the interaction tree, were shown to exert an effect on most functional sub-systems of the BP regulatory system; and specifically, for the adrenergic and dopaminergic receptor pathways. High prevalence (25 genes) of shared targets between the HTN indicated and HTN-inducing drug categories was demonstrated. We focus on six drug families which are not indicated for HTN treatment, yet are reported as a major cause for blood pressure side effects. We show the molecular mechanisms that may lead to this iatrogenic effect. Such an analysis may have clinical implications that could allow for the development of tailored medicine with fewer side effects.