Diabetes pill to beat high blood pressure
‘Eat for two a risk to babies’
A DRUG currently used to treat diabetes could help millions of people living with high blood pressure.
A daily dose of Canagliflozin lowers blood sugar levels and helps keep weight down – factors that can contribute to high blood pressure, which raises the risk of dying from heart disease or stroke.
Currently used to treat Type 2 diabetes, it has been identified as a potential lifeline for one in four with the condition after a trial of more than a million people.
As many as seven million of us have undiagnosed high blood pressure.
A landmark study, the biggest ever into hypertension, identified 500 new gene regions that make some people more than three times as likely to develop it. It found Canagliflozin targets one of the newly found gene regions.
Led by Queen Mary University and Imperial College London, the team Diet in pregnancy analysed DNA and their findings take medics nearer a blood test to find those at risk earlier.
A third of the genes linked with high blood pressure have now been
Tried and tested pills A QUARTER of pregnant women wrongly think they can “eat for two” and are putting their unborn child at risk, experts warn.
The mums-to-be believed they could take in an extra 22,000 calories over their pregnancy, baby formula firm Aptamil found.
And 46% told of receiving conflicting advice on diet.
But the Royal College of Midwives said “serious complications” can result from being overweight and Public Health England said a poor diet can hit the “future health of unborn children.” identified and Professor Mark Caulfield said: “With this information we could calculate a person’s genetic risk score for high-blood pressure in later life.
“Doctors could target interventions for those with a high risk... losing weight, reducing alcohol and increasing exercise.”
Using already tested pills could be a quick and cost effective way to treat patients who show resistance or intolerance to drugs.
Prof Jeremy Pearson, of the British Heart Foundation, said: “Knowing which genes cause high blood pressure may help us spot those at risk before the damage is done.”