Temple University Scientist Seeks to Explain Why Blacks Are More Likely to Suffer From Hypertension

Research by Michael Brown, associate professor of kinesiology and director of the Hypertension, Molecular, and Applied Physiology Lab at Temple University in Philadelphia, finds that a difference in the way cells in African Americans respond to inflammation may explain the greater incidence of hypertension in the black population. Dr. Brown is the lead author of a study published in the journal Vascular Health and Risk Management which found that a protein that causes inflammation when cells are damaged produced a 90 percent increase in endothelial microparticles in African Americans but only an 8 percent increase in whites. These microparticles can line blood vessels and lead to hypertension.

Dr. Brown holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California State University in Long Beach. He earned a Ph.D. at the University of Maryland.

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1 COMMENT

  1. Does that mean we must refrain from eating protein and in reference to inflammation, do you mean stress inducers? What can African Americans do to cure themselves of this ailment, hypertension,thus, no longer having to depend on prescription medication?

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