This is very cool: Our Maria Luisa S. Sequeira-Lopez, MD, and her colleagues have discovered natural blood pressure barometers inside our bodies that researchers have been hunting for 60 years.
These barometers, known as "baroreceptors," are found in specialized kidney cells called renin cells. They detect subtle changes in our blood pressure and adjust our hormone levels accordingly.
Scientists have thought these natural barometers had to exist -- they do important work -- but no one had been able to find them until Dr. Sequeira-Lopez and her team cracked the case. They have identified where the baroreceptors are located inside renin cells, how they work and how they prevent high and low blood pressure (known as hypertension and hypotension, respectively).
The researchers say the new findings could lead to new treatments for high blood pressure. Congratulations to the research team!