Hypertension

Preeclampsia is one of the most common pregnancy-related complications. Florian Herse of the Max Delbrück Center and Martin Gauster of the Medical University of Graz are studying the role that Hofbauer cells play in the disorder. They have been awarded a D-A-CH grant totaling €700,000 for their research.

There are few pregnancy diseases as life-threatening as preeclampsia. But the danger doesn’t end after birth: Mothers with preeclamptic pregnancies have a much higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life. Kristin Kräker from the Experimental and Clinical Research Center is working on an early warning system.

People with hypertension are at the greatest risk of developing serious cardiovascular diseases. A team of researchers at the Experimental and Clinical Research Center are now investigating whether probiotics in food supplements can support drug therapies or even delay the need to start them.

A Berlin-based team led by ECRC researcher Dominik N. Müller is analyzing how inflammation of the intestinal mucosa affects blood vessels. They are still looking for study participants – especially people with inflammatory bowel diseases, multiple sclerosis, high blood pressure and diabetes.

A mutation that causes severe hypertension also protects the kidneys from being damaged, reports a team led by Enno Klußmann of the Max Delbrück Center and the DZHK in “Kidney International”. The researchers are now exploring how the effects of the mutated gene can be used therapeutically.

Hypertension can damage the heart, brain, and blood vessels. The immune system plays an important role in this process, Suphansa Sawamiphak from the Max Delbrück Center reports in Cardiovascular Research. The study, using zebrafish, found that inflammation causes macrophages to damage blood vessels instead of protecting them.

To improve the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in the future, a European partnership is awarding more than five million euros to four international research teams. A project on the consequences of pulmonary hypertension, co-led by Gabriele G. Schiattarella, is also being funded.

An overactive enzyme that causes an inherited form of high blood pressure also appears to protect against hypertension-induced cardiac damage. A team of researchers from the Max Delbrück Center, ECRC, and DZHK led by Enno Klußmann explains in the journal Circulation how this could fundamentally change the way hearts can be protected from damage.

He has devoted much of his life to studying high blood pressure. Now Friedrich Luft has been honored for his significant contributions. The World Hypertension League has given him the Peter Sleight Award for Excellence in Hypertension Clinical Research.

Two studies from the research team led by Dominik Müller and Ralf Dechend have been granted the American Heart Association’s Paul Dudley White International Scholar Award. One of the lead authors is also the winner of the Dr. Sabine Oberhauser Prize.