Genotype Of Hypertensive Patient Determines Treatment Success

Success of hypertension treatment depends on how well the chosen treatment mode matches the patient’s genotype. Specialists of the Chair of Balneology and Physical Therapy (Kirov Army Medical College) have determined how the hypertensive patient’s genotype impacts the efficiency of magnetic-laser therapy.

Primary hypertension is one of the most frequent diseases, the treatment of which is still a problem to contemporary medicine. The disease is determined by some genes, each of the genes may exist in several variants. Respective combination of these genes forms the so-called “risk threshold” of disease origin. The major contribution to the hypertension evolution is made by the genes of angiotensinogen (AGT), angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and some others. Their combination determines not only the risk of disease occurrence, but also a potential success of its treatment. Thus, adrenolytic drugs act differently on central hemodynamics depending on the AGT and ACE genes’ polymorphism. Besides drug therapy, there exist physical treatment modes, specifically – magnetic-laser therapy. The St. Petersburg physicians have researched how its effectiveness depends on genotype.

Magnetic-laser therapy effectiveness was evaluated with 101 patients with different variants of genes’ polymorphism. The polymorphism itself was determined with the help of the polymerase chain reaction, having taken some venous blood from the patients. Participants to the experiment underwent a radiation treatment course consisting of ten everyday sessions, the patients being examined before and after the course. Physicians watched the blood pressure changes within 24 hours and the reaction to physical activity (the patients were placed on the bicycle ergometer). Polymorphism of different genes determines the clinical behavior and treatment effectiveness to different extent. Magnetic-laser therapy helps the majority of hypertensive patients. The ACE gene has the highest influence on the magnetic-laser therapy results. In case of one variant of polymorphism (it is called MM- polymorphism) the blood pressure falls down to the greatest degree. The researchers have also found the combinations where the effect is the lowest (this is TT-polymorphism of the angiotensinogen gene). It is interesting to note that the variant of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) polymorphism is the worst for success of magnetic-laser therapy but it is optimal for drug treatment of high blood-pressure.

There are several genes that determine effectiveness of hypertension treatment. To clearly perceive their joint impact it is necessary to continue the research. However, it is evident already which genes determine to the largest extent the blood pressure and the value the blood pressure can be lowered in this or that way. Probably the patients will be soon undergo genetic blood test first, and then, depending on its results, the treatment will be prescribed.