Kidney Makeup May Set Hypetension Risk

This article basically says that people without a full complement of nephrons are at a higher risk of developing high blood pressure. There is evidence for the set number of nephrons at birth. Keeping in mind a set number of nephrons, as well as blood pressure, theories rise as to the correlation with hypertension. When nephrons are in short supply and overworked, there's a release of hormones and retention of sodium by the kidneys. Both contribute to hypertension. They tried to see if they could disprove this theory, but were astonished with negative results. They did tests on rats to prove a correlation. Low birth weight was found in low nephron rats, and there's indirect evidence of the link in people. Scientists have also shown that restricting protein intake by pregnant rats yields offspring with fewer nephrons in their kidneys and more subsequent hypertension. Other findings also indicate that some cases of high blood pressure can be prevented by good prenatal nutrition that boosts a newborn's nephron supply. Scientists will also use this information to screen kidney transplantations. For a recipient that may need a nephron-rich kidney, this study will prove to be helpful.