MADRID, 21 (EUROPA PRESS)
A high-salt diet triggers brain inflammation that raises blood pressure, according to a study on rats from McGill University (Canada) and published in the journal Neuron.
Furthermore, it suggests that the brain may be a missing link in certain forms of high blood pressure, or hypertension, traditionally attributed to the kidneys. Thus, approximately one-third of hypertension patients do not respond to standard medications, which primarily target the blood vessels and kidneys, based on the traditional belief that hypertension begins there.
"This is further evidence that high blood pressure may originate in the brain, opening the door to developing brain-targeted treatments," says Prager-Khoutorsky, associate professor in the Department of Physiology at McGill University.
To find their results, the researchers gave rats water containing 2 percent salt—comparable to a daily diet rich in fast food and products like bacon, instant noodles, and processed cheese—to mimic human eating patterns. They also used rats instead of the more common mice because rats regulate salt and water more similarly to humans, "which makes the findings more applicable to people," Khoutorsky says.
The high-salt diet activated immune cells in a specific brain region, causing inflammation and an increase in the hormone vasopressin, which raises blood pressure. Researchers tracked these changes using newly available neuroimaging and laboratory techniques.
Thus, Khoutorsky concludes that "the brain's role in hypertension has been largely overlooked because it's more difficult to study. But with new techniques, we can observe these changes in action." They also plan to study whether similar processes are involved in other forms of hypertension.
