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Hypertension is a complex multifactorial disorder with genetic, environmental and demographic factors contributing to its prevalence. The genetic element contribution to blood pressure variation ranges from 30 to 50%. Therefore, identifying hypertension susceptibility genes will help understanding the pathophysiology of the disease. In addition to the potential impact of genomic information in selecting antihypertensive drug therapy, it may also help in recognizing those at risk of developing the disease, which may lead to new preventive approaches. Several strategies and methods have been used to identify hypertension susceptibility genes. Currently, genetic analysis of such data produced complex results, which makes it difficult to draw final conclusion on the use of genomic data in management of hypertension. This review attempts to summarize present known genetic variations that may be implicated in the pathogenesis of hypertension and to discuss various research strategies used to identify them. It also highlights some of the opportunities and challenges, which may be encountered in interpreting the value of these genetic variations to improve management of hypertension.

Crude ethanolic extract of Lawsonia inermis L. (0.25-2.0 g/ kg) produced significant and dose-dependent anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic effects in rats. The extract also produced significant increases in pentobarbitone-induced sleeping time. Using a liquid-liquid extraction procedure, the extract was fractionated into chloroform, butanol, and water fractions, and these were tested for the above activities. The butanol and chloroform fractions showed more potent anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic effects than the crude extracts, while the aqueous extract showed significantly less effect. As compared with the other extracts, the butanolic extract (500 mg/kg) was the most effective in the analgesic test. From the chloroform extract, a pure compound was isolated and identified, using chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques, as 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthaquinone (lawsone). The isolated compound was found to possess significant anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic activity. It potentiated significantly the pentobarbitone-induced sleeping time. The anti-inflammatory effect of lawsone (500 mg/kg) was not significantly different from that of the reference drug phenylbutazone (100 mg/kg).

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Pathogenesis of nephrotoxicity of the synthetic anticancer drug cisplatin (CP) involves generation of reactive oxygen species and free radicals in the kidney cortex, and cysteine prodrug l-2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (OTC) has been confirmed to have a strong antioxidant action. Therefore, in the present work, we aimed at testing the possible protective or palliative effect of OTC on CP nephrotoxicity in rats. OTC was given at an oral dose of 150 mg/kg/day for 7 days. On day 7, some of these rats were given a single intraperitoneal injection of CP (or vehicle) at a dose of 6 mg/kg. Rats were killed, blood and urine samples were collected, and the kidneys were removed 6 days after CP treatment. Nephrotoxicity was evaluated histopathologically by light microscopy, and biochemically by measuring the concentrations of creatinine and urea in serum, reduced glutathione (GSH) concentration and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in renal cortex, and by urinalyses. CP significantly increased the concentrations of urea and creatinine (P < 0.05) by about 128% and 170% respectively. CP treatment reduced cortical GSH concentration by about 34% (P < 0.05), and the activity of SOD by about 28% (P < 0.05). CP treatment significantly increased urine volume and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activity, and significantly decreased osmolality and protein concentrations. OTC significantly mitigated all these effects. Sections from saline- and OTC-treated rats showed apparently normal proximal tubules. However, kidneys of CP-treated rats had a moderate degree of necrosis. This appeared to be lessened when CP was given simultaneously with OTC. The concentration of CP in the cortical tissues was not significantly altered by OTC treatment. The results suggested that OTC had ameliorated the histopathological and biochemical indices of nephrotoxicity in rats. Pending further pharmacological and toxicological studies, OTC may potentially be useful as a nephroprotective agent.