Psience Quest

Quote:"People are 'meta-organisms' made up of roughly equal numbers of human cells and bacteria. Gut bacteria ecology interacts with our bodily physiology and brains, which may steer some people towards developing high blood pressure and depression," said Bruce R. Stevens, Ph.D., lead author of the study and professor of physiology & functional genomics, medicine and psychiatry at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, Florida. "In the future, health professionals may target your gut in order to prevent, diagnose and selectively treat different forms of high blood pressure."

Stevens said there's potential for this research to uncover treatment approaches that could improve outcomes in people with treatment-resistant hypertension. Nearly 20 percent of patients with high blood pressure don't respond well to treatment, even with multiple medications.