Sunday, May 17, 2009

High blood pressure and germs?   posted by Razib @ 5/17/2009 01:38:00 AM
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High Blood Pressure Could Be Caused By A Common Virus, Study Suggests:
A new study suggests for the first time that cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common viral infection affecting between 60 and 99 percent of adults worldwide, is a cause of high blood pressure, a leading risk factor for heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.


Interesting in light of Jean-Laurent Casanova's research program on genetic susceptibilities to infectious disease. The original paper is here. If many more diseases turn out to be contingent upon infection can the hypochondriacs please get a little more sympathy?

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