Life Science log

A trio of studies published in the American Journal of Hypertension offers new insight into the field of personalized medicine, challenging conventional approaches to treating the hypertension suffered by one-in-three U.S. adults.The studies show that some drug combinations work better than others among certain populations.  This raises the possibility that measuring blood levels of renin, a hormone secreted by the kidneys, might help optimize the treatment of hypertension in some people.Surprisingly, the research showed that taking a drug that's a poor match to renin may not only fail to decrease a patient?s blood pressure, it might even raise it."The idea that one size fits all doesn't make a lot of sense," Dr. Michael Alderman of New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine told the Associated Press (AP).Although Dr. Alderman supports the renin blood test approach, it is not likely such a test will become routine anytime soon.  Many physicians remain skeptical because previous research a few de