Promising new drug for high blood pressure – zilebesiran

 

Promising  new drug for high blood pressure According to one trial, a new medicine could help lower chronic high blood pressure for up to six months after a single injection. It’s called zilebesiran 

If effective, zilebesiran might give a more convenient approach of managing hypertension , which is currently treated with daily medications.

More than half of people diagnosed with hypertension, do not take all of their prescription medication regularly, resulting in inconsistency in blood pressure control.

Experts believe that better care of the patients whom suffering from high blood pressure could lower the risk of stroke, heart attack, and premature mortality.

New drug for high blood pressure – zilebesiran

The early stage clinical trials were carried out across four UK sites by an international team that included scientists from the University of Edinburgh’s Center for Cardiovascular Science.

Patients who took zilebesiran had a significant drop in systolic blood pressure (the force with which the heart pumps blood out and around the body) that persisted up to six months.

The systolic blood pressure was reduced by more than 10 mmHg on average at a 200mg dose or higher of the medicine, and by more than 20 mmHg at the highest dose of 800mg. One drop of this amount can lower someone’s blood pressure to a considerably safer level.

It’s well known that blood pressure naturally rises and falls during the day, making its complete treatment very challenging; but the study reported that the decline in blood pressure exhibited in participants treated with zilebesiran was continuous across a 24-hour period.

Successful new approach

Alnylam company developed zilebesiran, which acts by blocking the formation of angiotensin – a hormone that naturally secreted in our bodies and has an effect in narrowing blood vessels  resulting in high blood pressure – A number of existing hypertension medications also target angiotensin.

But Zilebesiran new drug employs a unique strategy to disrupt the mechanism in the liver that produces the angiotensinogen, which is the precursor of all types of angiotensin.

Zilebesiran inhibits the production of angiotensinogen by turning off the gene responsible for its production depending on siRNA which called Small interfering RNA.

The siRNA technique has already been used to produce treatments and medications for a variety of other illnesses, thanks to its ability to silence specific genes with great accuracy and effects that endure for months.

Study data and suggestions

The trial included 107 hypertensive patients; 80 received a single subcutaneous injection of zilebesiran, while 32 received a placebo with no active components. All the sample study patients were over 17 years old.

Experts warn that bigger-scale trials and studies with a larger number of patients are required to thoroughly evaluate the drug’s safety and provide additional insights into its potential to enhance clinical outcomes in persons with hypertension.

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