Scientists figured out how to detect rare hypertension with a single test

Clinical trials have shown that a new type of medical scan can detect

specific nodes of the adrenal glands, whichare responsible for excessive hormone secretion associated with high blood pressure. The scan thus helps diagnose a rare cause of hypertension, which affects about 10% of people.

Hypertension is often associated with variousenvironmental factors, genetics and lifestyle, but sometimes the cause is a hormonal abnormality. In primary aldosteronism, high blood pressure is caused by excessive production of the hormone aldosterone by the adrenal glands.

It is estimated that from five to 10% of caseshypertension is caused by hormonal dysfunction. It can be corrected with a simple surgical procedure to remove the problematic adrenal nodes. But primary aldosteronism is rarely diagnosed due to the lack of a simple method.

For the new test, scientists used methomidate —a molecule that accumulates precisely in the adrenal nodes. It is marked with a radioactive tracer and a routine computed tomography (CT) scan is done. In the image, only those nodules that excessively produce aldosterone “light up”.

“They are very small and easily missed by routine CT scans,” explains study co-author Morris Brown in a press release. “But often this disease can be cured.”

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