Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Analysis Seeking for Metabolic Markers of Hypertension in Human Serum

TL;DR

This study uses nuclear magnetic resonance to find metabolic markers in human serum that could help detect hypertension early and improve diagnosis.

Contribution

The study identifies new potential metabolic biomarkers for early hypertension diagnosis using NMR-based metabolomics.

Findings

Hypertensive individuals had higher levels of acetate, formate, and glycerol.

Lower levels of glutamine, glycine, and sarcosine were observed in hypertensive individuals.

These metabolites could serve as early diagnostic markers for hypertension.

Abstract

Hypertension is a highly prevalent medical condition that occurs when blood pressure is too high, which greatly increases the risk of developing other cardiovascular diseases and is generally associated with higher rates of morbidity and mortality. Due to the silent/asymptomatic nature of hypertension, although the methods currently available to diagnose it are easy, they generally do not allow for an early diagnosis and an efficient prognosis to avoid irreversible damage in the medium or long term. In fact, an early diagnosis of hypertension would be crucial to decrease hypertension-associated mortality. Since metabolomics using NMR can provide a global measurement of various serum metabolites, it is very suitable for detecting novel biomarkers. We therefore analyzed serum metabolomic profiles among normotensive and hypertensive elderly individuals by NMR and identified new potential biomarkers for hypertension and associated diseases. We found higher levels of acetate, formate, and glycerol, and lower levels of glutamine, glycine, and sarcosine in individuals with hypertension. Therefore, these metabolites could be used for early diagnosis of hypertension to avoid comorbidities derived from hypertension and associated mortality.

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