To improve the care of patients with high blood presure
University of Michigan Medical School
Introduction
The Byrd Lab focuses on bettering human health by improving the diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure, which is the leading risk factor for death and disability.
In a type of high blood pressure called primary aldosteronism, there is inappropriate or excess activation of a receptor called the mineralocorticoid receptor. Our NIH-funded research focuses on identifying novel biomarkers of mineralocorticoid receptor activation. Although FDA-approved drugs are available to block the mineralocorticoid receptor, when to use these potent medications and which dose to use remain poorly defined since we cannot currently measure activation of the receptor in patients in the clinic.
Our approach includes measuring the contents of extracellular vesicles, nanosized membrane-bound particles released by all known cell types, including cells expressing mineralocorticoid receptors.
Explains the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical research and provides suggestions for which studies should proceed, which should pivot to research on the pandemic, which should be paused, and which should stop.
Analysis of comments to CMS from stakeholders regarding reimbursement for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, often described as the gold standard blood pressure measurement method, but rarely used in the United States
mRNA is a critical biomolecule involved in the manifestation of the genetic code into functional protein molecules. Its critical role in the central dogma has made it a key target in many studies to determine biomarkers and drug targets for numerous diseases. Currently, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that RNA molecules around the size of full-length mRNA transcripts can be assayed in the supernatant of human urine and urinary extracellular mRNA could provide information about transcription in cells of urogenital tissues. However, the optimal means of normalizing these signals is unclear. In this paper, we describe relevant first principles as well as research findings from our lab and other labs toward normalization of urinary extracellular mRNA.
Analysis of the relationship between gene expression in the human renal cortex and urinary extracellular vesicles, as well as a study of intentional modulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in humans with attention to corresponding changes in mRNA transcript abundance in the urine supernatant.
