RENAL VASCULAR HYPERTROPHY AND REMODELLING IN SHR: SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM AND IMPLICATIONS FOR HYPERTENSION
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$191,561.00
Summary
High blood pressure (hypertension) remains a major health problem for Australians. One in six Australians suffer from hypertension, with consequent increased risk of stroke and heart attack. Anti-hypertensive treatments are available, but must usually be taken for the rest of the patient's life and the cost to the taxpayer of anti-hypertensive drugs is greater than for any other health problem. Prevention of high blood pressure depends on identifying the initial cause - but we still do not know ....High blood pressure (hypertension) remains a major health problem for Australians. One in six Australians suffer from hypertension, with consequent increased risk of stroke and heart attack. Anti-hypertensive treatments are available, but must usually be taken for the rest of the patient's life and the cost to the taxpayer of anti-hypertensive drugs is greater than for any other health problem. Prevention of high blood pressure depends on identifying the initial cause - but we still do not know the cause in over 90% of hypertensive people. This project will study whether overactivity of the nerves to the blood vessels of the kidney might be the cause. There is evidence for this in humans, and in a strain of rats which develops high blood pressure (the spontaneously hypertensive rat). Our experiments will study these rats to see whether nerves affect the structure and function of the blood vessels of the kidney in ways that lead to increased blood pressure.Read moreRead less
The Role Of Tissue Hypoxia In The Evolution Of Kidney Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$509,391.00
Summary
We will determine how low oxygen levels in the kidney lead to kidney disease. We can now measure the levels of oxygen in kidney tissue in rats 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in a completely non-invasive way. We will study two common kinds of kidney disease. One, acute kidney injury, can result from administration of contrast agents used in x-ray diagnostic procedures. The other, chronic kidney disease, is common in patients with diabetes or high blood pressure.
A lack of oxygen in the kidney (hypoxia) is a primary cause of kidney disease, but the mechanisms are not clear. To determine the processes involved, we will take a new approach; combining a mathematical model with studies of kidney oxygen regulation in both normal and diseased kidneys. We will determine the causes of hypoxia in kidney disease, and find out if preventing hypoxia has the potential to be a treatment for kidney disease.