Uric Acid and High Blood Pressure

A Science Daily article entitled High Levels Of Uric Acid May Be Associated With High Blood Pressure reports that lowering uric acid levels in the blood of some patients can reduce blood pressure. The finding was made by Baylor College of Medicine researchers.

An excess of uric acid can result from too much synthesis of it or from too little excretion of it. The cited study on humans follows studies involving rats which linked uric acid and high blood pressure.

Peanuts

Peanuts rich in 'good chemicals,' the title of a BBC website article, reports that peanuts are rich in antioxidents known as polyphenols. Peanuts are particularly rich in a type of polyphenol known as p-coumaric acid. Further good news comes from the fact that the roasting of peanuts actually increases the levels of their antioxidents. Peanuts hold their own against many fruits and berries known to be high in antioxident content.

Another advantage of peanuts is their high protein content and the fact that their fats are monounsaturated fat. Nevertheless the caloric content of peanuts must be of some concern as all fats lend calories to the foods containing them.

An Innovative Means of Monitoring Glaucoma

Pressure-Sensing Contact Lenses A tiny electrical circuit built into contact lenses may provide 24-hour monitoring for glaucoma. is a Technology Review article that should be of interest to those afflicted with glaucoma. Quoting the article:

Currently, the only way for patients with glaucoma to keep tabs on the disease is to go to the doctor's office. There, a clinician administers one of several tests to measure glaucoma's main risk factor, intraocular pressure (IOP), and prescribes medication accordingly. But such visits normally occur two or three times a year, and there's no take-home monitoring device for patients who may experience pressure spikes between visits.

Now scientists at the University of California, Davis, have designed a contact-lens prototype with a built-in pressure sensor, using a novel process that etches tiny electrical circuits within a soft polymer material. The lens's designer, Tingrui Pan, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, says that the design may eventually be fashioned into disposable contact lenses, enabling patients to continuously monitor glaucoma at home.

In glaucoma, drainage of the fluid that normally delivers nutrients to and removes metabolic waste from the eye is blocked. Elevated pressure in the eye ultimately presses on the retina, compromising neural activity and damaging the optic nerve, resulting in loss of vision. Doctors manage glaucoma by measuring patients' IOP and prescribing drugs to lower it.

"It's very different from situations like cardiac disease or diabetes, where patients can wear devices that measure heart rate or blood pressure 24 hours a day for a week or more to get a better idea of what's going on," says James Brandt, a professor of ophthalmology at UC Davis and Pan's collaborator. "We don't have that for glaucoma, and that's one of the biggest clinical frustrations we have."

The article discusses an endeavor whose success would make it possible to continually monitor pressure within the eyes, thereby keeping tabs on glaucoma. The lenses are not yet ready for useage. When they are a new and promising diagnostic tool will become available.