FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2025
High BP can Damage Kidney Functions Even Before Symptoms Appear — Study
Published on Mar 28, 2025
By IANS
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- NEW DELHI — Hypertension or high blood pressure can have a significant impact on kidney function, much before clinical symptoms begin to appear, according to a study that stressed the importance of early detection.
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- The research, led by a team from the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, found that high blood pressure can lead to abnormalities in the podocytes -- specialised cells in the renal filter -- even without other pre-existing conditions such as diabetes.
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- "Early detection and treatment could help to slow the progression of kidney disease and prevent long-term damage," said the researchers Rainer Oberbauer and Heinz Regele from the varsity.
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- For the study, published in the journal "Hypertension", the team analysed kidney tissue from a total of 99 patients: who either suffered from high blood pressure (arterial hypertension) and type 2 diabetes or did not have either of the two conditions. High BP and diabetes are the most common causes of chronic kidney disease.
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- The study was conducted on unaffected renal tissue samples from tumour nephrectomies -- a surgical procedure in which a kidney is removed in whole or in part to treat a kidney tumour.
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- Using modern imaging and computer-assisted methods, the size and density of the podocytes and the volume of the renal corpuscles (glomeruli) were determined in the tissue samples.
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- Podocytes are specialised cells of the renal corpuscles (glomeruli) that play a crucial role in the filtering function of the kidney. Their size and density are important indicators of the health of the kidney tissue.
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- Artificial intelligence in the form of deep-learning-based image analysis was used for the analysis. With the help of a specially trained algorithm, digital tissue sections were automatically analysed to precisely capture the structure of podocytes and glomeruli.
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- "The results show that patients with hypertension have a reduced density of podocytes compared to healthy controls and that their cell nuclei are enlarged compared to those of healthy controls," said first author Christopher Paschen.
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- These changes occurred independently of the additional diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and likely represent the first microscopically visible step towards impaired renal function.
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- This indicates that high blood pressure can cause structural damage to the kidneys at an early stage and before clinical symptoms appear, the researchers explained.
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