Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and the US pharmaceutical company CinCor looked studied the potential health benefits of the medication Baxdrostat for patients.
After other conventional medications failed, participants in a clinical trial who received a novel medication had significantly lower blood pressure.
Aldosterone, a hormone that aids in controlling the body’s salt levels, is produced by the body but not by baxdrostat.
Professor Morris Brown, co-senior author and professor of endocrine hypertension at Queen Mary University of London, said, “The results of this first-of-its-kind therapy are promising, however additional testing is required before we can draw comparisons with any existing treatments.”
But many people who do not react to conventional hypertension treatment may find hope in Baxdrostat.
“The efficacy of prior medications in individual individuals can vary significantly, whereas a hallmark of this new class is that it can be predicted to work well in people whose aldosterone hormone has made them resistant to older treatments,” says Dr. Chen.
A placebo or different doses of the medication were administered to 248 patients with “treatment-resistant” high blood pressure over the course of 12 weeks.
According to the study, which was written up in the New England Journal of Medicine, those who received the greatest dose saw an average 20-point drop in blood pressure.
Although those using smaller dosages also experienced a drop in blood pressure, the largest doses were associated with the greatest decreases.
