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(Ivanhoe Newswire) Millions of Americans have high blood pressure also develop diabetes and other metabolic complications. New research identifies the underlying molecular mechanism for this chain reaction of diseases.
Bioengineering researchers at UC San Diegos Jacobs School of Engineering report on their latest finding. The research was conducted in rats. They say they not only pinpointed the molecular mechanism in a strain of rats that explains metabolic disorders, but they found a drug developed for unrelated reasons can reverse the symptoms.
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Researchers say in the rats with hypertension they found significant levels of proteases, enzymes that break down proteins. This sets off a chain of reactions that affects insulin levels and can lead to diabetes. Then the team tested if a protease-blocking drug could reverse the multiple metabolic complications in the rat strain. They gave them the drug, doxycycline which is an antibiotic used for bacterial infections. It wasnt a likely drug choice, but researchers say laboratory tests show it worked at blocking activity of certain proteases in the rat strain.
Study authors say these studies indicate hypertension and cell dysfunctions associated with metabolic syndrome may be part of an enzymatic auto-digestion process in which proteases in our body become uncontrolled and break down proteins.
SOURCE: Published online in Hypertension on June 30, 2008
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