Natural Sciences Active Updated Aug 17, 2026

A third driver of high blood pressure comes into view

Doctors have targeted hypertension for decades through the nervous system and blood-volume hormones, but a new study points to a third pathway: inflammation-resolution systems that tell the immune system its job is done. An experimental compound that reactivates this pathway lowered blood pressure only modestly in mice but reduced arterial stiffness and organ scarring, raising the stakes of whether a new drug class could target hypertension's downstream organ damage rather than just the number on the cuff.