By Ijeoma Nwanosike
A recent study has established a connection between high blood pressure and early structural changes in the kidneys with results indicating that hypertension can lead to damage in kidney cells, despite the absence of other medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes.

The findings, published in the journal Hypertension by researchers at the Medical University of Vienna, underline the critical importance of early detection and consistent therapy in preventing long-term kidney damage.

The research team focused on structural kidney changes in patients with hypertension and type 2 diabetes and was designed to determine whether high blood pressure alone could cause damage to the kidney’s filtration system, independent of diabetes, which is already a known risk factor for kidney disease.

To arrive at their conclusions, the team analysed kidney tissue samples from a total of 99 patients, and these tissue samples were taken from tumour nephrectomies performed between 2013 and 2018.

A tumour nephrectomy is a surgical procedure in which a kidney is removed in whole or in part to treat a kidney tumour.The research was conducted using unaffected renal tissue from these procedures, while the patients involved in the study included individuals with both high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, as well as those who did not have either of the two conditions.

The study focused on podocytes, which are specialized cells in the renal corpuscles (glomeruli) of the kidneys that play a crucial role in the filtering function of the kidney, with their size and density known as important indicators of kidney health.

Using a deep-learning-based image analysis and a specially trained algorithm for precision, the researchers measured the size and density of podocytes, as well as the volume of the glomeruli in the tissue samples.

According to the team lead, Christopher Paschen, the results revealed that patients with hypertension had a reduced density of podocytes when compared to healthy controls. Additionally, the cell nuclei of these podocytes were found to be enlarged.

He noted that these changes occurred independently of a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, suggesting that hypertension alone is sufficient to cause structural damage to the kidneys.

“The results show that patients with hypertension have a reduced density of podocytes compared to healthy controls and that their cell nuclei are enlarged compared to those of healthy controls,” he said.

The researchers believe that the observed abnormalities represent the first microscopically visible step towards impaired kidney function, suggesting that such damage can begin before any clinical symptoms become evident.

Co-researchers, Rainer Oberbauer and Heinz Regele emphasised the significance of these findings. They stated that early detection and treatment of high blood pressure could help to slow the progression of kidney disease and potentially prevent long-term damage.

The study authors see this as an indication that high blood pressure can cause structural damage to the kidneys at an early stage and before clinical symptoms appear.

“Early detection and treatment could help to slow the progression of kidney disease and prevent long-term damage,” they reported.