A recent scientific study reveals an unexpected role for a region in the brain in causing high blood pressure, opening the door to new treatment methods that could help millions of patients around the world.
A research team from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil and the University of Auckland in New Zealand has found that an area known as the "paralateral frontal zone" (pFL) not only regulates breathing, but may also contribute to raising blood pressure through its effect on blood vessels.
This region plays a role in controlling forceful exhalations, such as those that occur during exercise, coughing, or laughing. However, experiments on mice have shown that it is also capable of constricting blood vessels, which leads to an increase in blood pressure.
Researchers believe that this link between breathing and blood flow regulation may explain why a large percentage of patients (up to about 40%) do not respond to blood pressure-lowering medications, despite adhering to the treatment.
The results also suggest that pFL neurons may link subtle changes in breathing rhythm to increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system, known as the "fight-or-flight" response, which is responsible for regulating blood pressure in the body.
In the study, researchers used genetic engineering techniques to control the activity of these cells in mice. When they activated them, blood pressure rose, while deactivating them caused blood pressure to return to normal levels, reinforcing the hypothesis of their direct role in this condition.
These findings also help explain the link between high blood pressure and sleep apnea, a condition in which a person experiences difficulty breathing during sleep. In such cases, pFL cells become active in response to low oxygen or high carbon dioxide levels, which can lead to increased blood pressure.
Despite the importance of these results, the researchers emphasize that the study is still in its early stages, as it was conducted only on animals, and the same mechanism has not yet been proven to exist in humans.
However, the discovery is of great importance, especially since nearly a third of the world's population suffers from high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and which may also be linked to dementia.
Researchers are currently working on developing therapies that precisely target this neural region without affecting the rest of the brain. One idea being considered is focusing on the carotid bodies in the neck, sensory organs that can influence this area indirectly.
Researchers believe that targeting these sensors with specific drugs could provide a safer way to control blood pressure, without the need for drugs that penetrate the brain, but these hypotheses still need more testing before being applied to humans.
The study results were published in the journal Circulation Research.
