Sodium channels found outside the kidney do some heavy lifting to maintain functional kidneys and normal blood pressure, a study published recently in the journal Hypertension reported. The extra-renal sodium channels discovered by geneticists and nephrologists at the University of Pittsburgh are a promising new target for medications that could potentially lower blood pressure without raising blood potassium levels.
Thomas Kleyman, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the renal-electrolyte division at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and Ryan Minster, PhD, assistant professor of human genetics at Pitt’s School of Public Health, are the senior authors of the study.
