High BP can Damage Kidney Functions Even Before Symptoms Appear — Study
Hypertension or high blood pressure can have a significant impact on kidney function
- NEW DELHI — Hypertension or high blood pressure can have a significant
impact on kidney function, much before clinical symptoms begin to appear,
according to a study that stressed the importance of early detection.
-
- The research, led by a team from the Medical University of
Vienna in Austria, found that high blood pressure can lead to abnormalities in
the podocytes -- specialised cells in the renal filter -- even without other
pre-existing conditions such as diabetes.
-
- "Early detection and treatment could help to slow the
progression of kidney disease and prevent long-term damage," said the
researchers Rainer Oberbauer and Heinz Regele from the varsity.
-
- For the study, published in the journal
"Hypertension", the team analysed kidney tissue from a total of 99
patients: who either suffered from high blood pressure (arterial hypertension)
and type 2 diabetes or did not have either of the two conditions. High BP and
diabetes are the most common causes of chronic kidney disease.
-
- The study was conducted on unaffected renal tissue samples
from tumour nephrectomies -- a surgical procedure in which a kidney is removed
in whole or in part to treat a kidney tumour.
-
- Using modern imaging and computer-assisted methods, the size
and density of the podocytes and the volume of the renal corpuscles (glomeruli)
were determined in the tissue samples.
-
- Podocytes are specialised cells of the renal corpuscles
(glomeruli) that play a crucial role in the filtering function of the kidney.
Their size and density are important indicators of the health of the kidney
tissue.
-
- Artificial intelligence in the form of deep-learning-based
image analysis was used for the analysis. With the help of a specially trained
algorithm, digital tissue sections were automatically analysed to precisely
capture the structure of podocytes and glomeruli.
-
- "The results show that patients with hypertension have
a reduced density of podocytes compared to healthy controls and that their cell
nuclei are enlarged compared to those of healthy controls," said first
author Christopher Paschen.
-
- These changes occurred independently of the additional
diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and likely represent the first microscopically
visible step towards impaired renal function.
-
- This indicates that high blood pressure can cause structural
damage to the kidneys at an early stage and before clinical symptoms appear,
the researchers explained.
