African-Americans are known to have disproportionately higher rates of elevated blood pressure compared to the rest of the U.S. population. These higher blood pressure rates also cause a number of kidney related health problems. Genetics may be the reason African-Americans aged 25-44 are 20 times more likely than their white counterparts to develop hypertension-related kidney failure.
Every body issues instructions to the heart, the blood vessels and the kidneys about what to do. Our individual genetic code, the individual proteins that create the genes, and the external environment in which we live combine to shape the instructions. Understanding the mechanisms dictating how these factors operate individually -- and their interplay among one another -- is the focus of research that will ultimately improve our understanding of human health and disease.
It is also the purpose of the upcoming fall meeting of the American Physiological Society (APS) (http://www.the-aps.org), being held October 1-4, 2003 at the Radisson Riverfront Hotel, Augusta, GA Research highlights of the meeting, entitled, Understanding Renal and Cardiovascular Function Through Physiological Genomics, include:
HEALTH AND RACE
Racial Differences in Stress-Induced Salt Sensitivity and Resulting Blood Pressure Load
Researchers have tested their hypothesis that stress is a contributing factor to African-American health status through an effect on the kidneys via pressure natriuresis (the excretion of sodium in urine, usually in excessive amounts). They report on their protocol involvi
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Contact: Donna Krupa
djkrupa1@aol.com
703-967-2751
American Physiological Society
23-Sep-2003