High blood pressure may accelerate osteoarthritis through a newly identified hormone pathway, according to a study published in Science. Researchers from Chonnam National University in South Korea traced the mechanism in mice and human tissue.

The team found that hypertension raises blood levels of arginine vasopressin (AVP), a brain hormone. The hormone travels through the bloodstream and leaks into joint fluid. Healthy cartilage has little for it to bind to, but injured or aging cartilage starts producing a receptor called AVPR1A.

That receptor switches on a gene regulator called NR4A3, setting off a chain reaction: cells make more cartilage-destroying enzymes and less of the proteins that maintain cartilage. Human knee cartilage from replacement surgeries showed the same pattern.

Crucially, removing the AVPR1A gene or injecting a vasopressin-blocking drug called relcovaptan into the knee stopped the extra damage. Standard blood pressure medicines did not help the cartilage. The findings are preclinical, but they point to a new treatment target for the millions at risk.

Sources: doi.org; medicalxpress.com; technextportal.com.br.