![]() ![]() ![]() However, an excess of aldosterone can lead to hypertension, or high blood pressure, and fluid accumulation in body tissues. It plays a crucial role in maintaining the body’s water and salt balance by promoting sodium retention and potassium excretion in the kidneys. This fluctuation explains why patients with the gene variant can elude diagnosis unless they happen to have blood tests at different times of day.Īldosterone is a type of mineralocorticoid hormone produced by the adrenal cortex, the outer layer of the adrenal gland. The fluctuating release of aldosterone throughout the day is also an issue for doctors, which at its peak causes salt overload and hypertension. Firstly, the variant affects a protein called CADM1 and stops cells in the body from ‘talking’ to each other and saying that it is time to stop making aldosterone. The gene variant discovered today causes several problems which makes it hard for doctors to diagnose some patients with hypertension. The new discovery is a gene variant in some of these nodules which leads to a vast, but intermittent, over-production of the hormone. The nodule produces a hormone, aldosterone, that controls how much salt is in the body. The cause is a tiny benign nodule, present in one-in-twenty people with hypertension. The study highlights the need for a 24-hour urine test to measure aldosterone levels for improved hypertension diagnosis and treatment.Ĭlinicians at Queen Mary University of London and Barts Hospital have identified a gene variant that causes a common type of hypertension (high blood pressure) and a way to cure it, new research published in the journal Nature Genetics shows. The condition can be cured through unilateral adrenalectomy, removing one adrenal gland. A recently discovered gene variant, found in benign nodules in 5% of people with hypertension, leads to an overproduction of the hormone aldosterone, causing high blood pressure. ![]()
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