Gene and Blood Pressure, Research Paper Example

Recent studies have shown that blood pressure has been associated with “several single-nucleotide polymorphisms” (AlSaleh et al., 2014). There has been interesting results regarding rs1378942, which can be found in the c-Src tyrosine kinase (CSK) gene. For instance, there can be different interactions between fish oil and rs1378942. The goal of this specific study was to determine the association between fish oil, rs1378942, and blood pressure treatment.

The study was conducted between April 2008 and October 2010 at King’s College in London, England (AlSaleh et al., 2014). It was conducted as a “randomized, double-blind, parallel design [and was] approved by the St. Thomas Hospital National Health Service Research Ethics” study  (AlSaleh et al., 2014). The researchers provided consent forms to the participants. The participants consisted of a sample of men and women between 45 and 70 years old (AlSaleh et al., 2014). These people were considered to be healthy and reported as non-smoking (AlSaleh et al., 2014). Exclusions occurred with those applicants that had untreated high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol (AlSaleh et al., 2014). This resulted in 367 participants. Prior to the baseline period, oily fish intake was restricted, and “participants consumed olive oil placebo capsules” (AlSaleh et al., 2014). The study found that there was “no significant genotype association with any cardiovascular variable at baseline” (AlSaleh et al., 2014). However, if the participant received higher doses of EPA and DHA, “the reductions in blood pressure variables compared with baseline were significantly greater in non-carriers of the minor C-allele than in carriers” (AlSaleh et al., 2014). The study also noted that CSK is part of a gene cluster, which results “in an inactive conformation and suppression of signaling by various surface receptors” and was regarded as a blood pressure influence with high intakes of EPA and DHA  (AlSaleh et al., 2014).  This was interesting because it shows how medications can make a particular gene more impactful for a particular health condition, such as high blood pressure.

References

AlSaleh, A., Maniou, Z., Lewis, F. J., Hall, W. L., Sanders, T. B., & O’Dell, S. D. (2014). Interaction between a CSK Gene Variant and Fish Oil Intake Influences Blood Pressure in Healthy Adults. Journal of Nutrition, 144(3), 267–272.