Doctors React to New Drug That May Potentially Cure Hypertension
Baxdrostat Reverses Hypertension
A novel medication has amazed medical professionals by reversing a frequent root cause of high blood pressure for years after use, offering potential help to millions of individuals suffering from high blood pressure.
- Baxdrostat, an aldosterone synthase inhibitor, was evaluated in a study following 14 patients who took the daily pills for six to 12 months.
- Researchers found that blood pressure benefits persisted up to two years after stopping the medication, with some patients completely off other hypertension drugs.
- The drug is currently assessed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and was approved in the US earlier this year for uncontrolled hypertension.
Baxdrostat Improves Blood Pressure and May Offer Long-Term Relief
Following a treatment period of six to 12 months using daily doses of baxdrostat, individuals experienced improvements in their blood pressure, and surprisingly, these positive effects persisted for up to two years afterward. Some patients are no longer on any hypertension drugs and are potentially cured of the condition.
It’s very exciting to see,
said Prof Morris Brown, a hypertension specialist at Queen Mary University of London, who led the study. Just under a quarter of the patients came off all treatment and had completely normal blood pressure.
More than a billion people worldwide have high blood pressure, including more than 12 million in the UK. Benign growths or tiny nodules on the adrenal glands are responsible for the condition in 5 to 10% of cases, triggering an overproduction of the hormone aldosterone. The excess hormone raises blood pressure by signalling the kidneys to retain salt.
Evaluating the Aldosterone Synthase Inhibitor
The standard treatment for what is called primary aldosteronism is to surgically remove the affected adrenal gland. Other factors can contribute to patient hypertension, meaning surgery is not always a complete cure.
Baxdrostat is known as an aldosterone synthase inhibitor that suppresses the blood pressure-raising hormone. The drug was approved in the US earlier this year for patients with hypertension not controlled by existing drugs, and it is being assessed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which could make it available through the NHS next year.
The potentially curative effect came to light in a small study following 14 patients whose hypertension improved dramatically during a three-month trial. They continued taking the daily pills for six to 12 months and then stopped, with doctors checking them up to two years later. Details of these findings are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Larger Trials Could Change How Doctors Diagnose and Treat Patients
Mason Freeman, a Harvard University professor of medicine who participated in the research, mentioned that a larger study is currently underway and stated it remains premature to definitively declare any patients cured.
If this effect is common and very persistent then the approach to diagnosing and treating these patients is likely to dramatically change,
he said, adding that patients could avoid invasive diagnostic procedures and surgery if initial treatment with the inhibitor proves effective.
Brown suspected the drug may cure primary aldosteronism because of an experiment in mice 20 years ago. Previous laboratory work demonstrated that eliminating the specific gene required for aldosterone production resulted in the elimination of the cells responsible for manufacturing the hormone.
He suspects baxdrostat has a similar effect by causing a surge in highly active molecules called reactive oxygen species when suppressing aldosterone. Those oxygen radicals are killing the cells and they disappear,
Brown said. That’s what I think the mechanism is and it’s testable, it’s something we’re doing now in the laboratory.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and scientific communication purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider regarding any medical condition, diagnosis, or treatment plan.