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Posted on Aug 26, 2008, 8 p.m.
By Jeanelle Topping
High levels of uric acid have been linked to the lowering of blood pressure, it has been claimed.
High levels of uric acid have been linked to the lowering of blood pressure, it has been claimed.
In news that may be of interest to anti-aging physicians, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have suggested that their findings - published in the Journal of the American Medical Association - may aid the development of hypertension treatment.
Uric acid is a waste product which can build up when the body is unable to excrete it or produces too much of it, Eurekalert notes.
Scientists used allopurino - traditionally used to treat gout - to achieve high levels of the acid in human test subjects.
Dr Daniel Feig, associate professor of pediatrics-renal at the college and chief of the pediatric hypertension clinics at Texas Children's Hospital, said: "This is far from being a reasonable therapeutic intervention for high blood pressure, but these findings indicate a first step in understanding the pathway of the disease."
In related news, researchers at Queen's University in Canada have claimed that Viagra may potentially be used to reduce the risk of strokes and heart attack.
