A drug which lowers uric acid levels has been linked with reduced blood pressure (BP) in youths with newly-diagnosed hypertension, according to a preliminary report published in the August 27th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study was carried out by staff at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, USA, who conducted a placebo-controlled crossover trial to examine whether lowering uric acid levels with the drug allopurinol would lower blood pressure in hyperuricemic adolescents with newly diagnosed hypertension.

A total of 30 participants were assigned a group to either receive the drug or a placebo twice daily for a month, followed by a two-week period where they took no treatment.

Following this, they received the other therapy they had not received previously for four more weeks, Eurekalert notes.

"The average decrease in casual BP during allopurinol treatment was -6.9 mm Hg for systolic and -5.1 mm Hg for diastolic BP; for placebo, the respective changes were -2.0 and -2.4. The average changes in 24-hour ambulatory BP during allopurinol were -6.3 mm Hg, systolic; -4.6, diastolic BP," the resource notes.

According to the researchers, the results of the study represent a potentially new therapeutic approach to lowering elevated blood pressure.

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