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Abstract-Low-renin hypertension is characterized by a high ratio of aldosterone to plasma renin activity (ALD/PRA), which may suggest inappropriately increased aldosterone biosynthesis. The genes for the enzymes involved in aldosterone synthesis may contribute to low-renin hypertension. We investigated the associations between genetic variations of CYP11B2 (aldosterone synthase) T(Ϫ344)C and hypertension in 482 Japanese subjects. Subjects older than 50 years with a blood pressure Ͻ140/85 mm Hg were considered normotensive (nϭ227 subjects), and subjects younger than 65 years old with a BP Ͼ160/95 mm Hg were considered hypertensive (nϭ255 subjects). The frequency of the TCϩCC genotypes in the normotensive group was significantly lower than in the hypertensive group. Logistic analysis on 482 subjects revealed that body mass index, gender, and the genotype of CYP11B2 T(Ϫ344)C were significantly associated with hypertension. ALD and PRA were assessed in 97 subjects with hypertension, and the TCϩCC genotypes were significantly associated with higher ALD/PRA. Sixty-five subjects with hypertension were assessed by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, and the frequency of nondippers (a difference in mean blood pressure of Ͻ10% between the daytime [6 AM to 9 PM] and nighttime [9 PM to 6 AM] hours) was significantly higher in subjects with the TCϩCC (heteroϩhomo mutation) genotype than in subjects with the TT (wild-type) genotype. Echocardiographic assessment (nϭ136) revealed that the ratio of left ventricular end-diastolic dimension to height tended to be higher in subjects with the TCϩCC genotype than in subjects with the TT genotype. The present study suggests that the (Ϫ344)C allele of the CYP11B2 gene may be a genetic marker for low-renin hypertension in Japanese. Key Words: genetics Ⅲ CYP11B2 Ⅲ aldosterone Ⅲ renin Ⅲ blood pressure monitoring, ambulatory Ⅲ hypertension, low-renin L ow-renin hypertension is characterized by high ratio of aldosterone to plasma renin activity (ALD/PRA), which may suggest inappropriately increased aldosterone biosynthesis. Approximately 10% to 20% of patients with essential hypertension exhibit high ALD/PRA. In a study by Komiya et al, 1 which characterized the renin profile in 421 Japanese patients with essential hypertension, 39 patients exhibited a high (Ͼ30) ALD/PRA. The genes for the enzymes involved in aldosterone biosynthesis may contribute to low-renin hypertension. Indeed, the genetic variant (Lys173Arg) P450c11AS (aldosterone synthase) has been suggested to be involved in low-renin hypertension in Chilean patients. 2 Several frequent polymorphisms have recently been described in the transcriptional regulatory region of the CYP11B2 gene, and the T(Ϫ344)C polymorphism has recently been reported to be associated with left ventricular mass in young Finnish adults free of clinical heart diseases. 3 Pojoga et al 4 reported that the T(Ϫ344)C polymorphism in the aldosterone synthase gene was associated with significant differences in plasma aldosterone levels. However, they rep...

Limiting egg consumption may have some health benefits, at least in women in geographic areas where egg consumption makes a relatively large contribution to total dietary cholesterol intake.