Hypertension genetic markers discovered

Researchers' findings may lead to tests aiding in prevention and medication choices, but most agree the technology is not ready for widespread use.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. April 8, 2002.

A genetic test for hypertension? Some question whether it is really necessary.

But for geneticists, this is the future of medicine -- predicting onset of disease and tailoring treatment based on a person's genes.

"This is one of the ways medicine is going to move forward," said Reed E. Pyeritz, MD, PhD, chief of the division of medical genetics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. "You could tailor your medical therapy or lifestyle changes and expect it to be much more or less effective based on the genotype."

In recent months, scientists have announced findings related to several genetic polymorphisms that may someday be useful in determining prevention strategies and treatment options for high blood pressure.

Several versions of the G protein-coupled receptor kinase 4 gene make a person more likely to develop salt-sensitive hypertension, according to a paper published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., and the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center in Charlottesville.

In addition, several papers presented by Vanderbilt University researchers in March at the annual conference of the Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics in Atlanta also found that several versions of the beta-adrenergic receptor could determine a patient's response to beta-blockers.

Hypertension, like many other diseases, will be further defined and separated into many forms, each with its own treatment. But for most in the field, this kind of science is far from the average doctor's office. [...]