{"id":443115,"date":"2025-05-22T06:34:57","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T06:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/health.theemtspot.com\/?p=443115"},"modified":"2026-04-11T19:52:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T19:52:40","slug":"new-study-lorundrostat-drops-high-blood-pressure-by-15-points-in-12-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theemtspot.com\/health\/new-study-lorundrostat-drops-high-blood-pressure-by-15-points-in-12-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"New Study: Lorundrostat Drops High Blood Pressure by 15 Points in 12 Weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A groundbreaking <strong>Phase II clinical trial<\/strong> has revealed that a new drug, <strong>lorundrostat<\/strong>, may offer significant hope to individuals with <strong>treatment-resistant high blood pressure<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The peer-reviewed study, recently published in the <em>New England Journal of Medicine<\/em>, demonstrated that patients receiving lorundrostat experienced an average reduction of <strong>15 mmHg in systolic blood pressure<\/strong>\u2014more than twice the reduction seen in the placebo group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This discovery, led by scientists from the <strong>University of California, San Diego School of Medicine<\/strong>, targets one of the most common chronic health conditions in the U.S., where nearly <strong>120 million adults<\/strong> are affected by hypertension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-larger-font-size\"><strong>Key takeaways from the clinical trial<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Participants receiving <strong>lorundrostat<\/strong> showed a <strong>15-point drop<\/strong> in systolic blood pressure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The placebo group recorded an average reduction of <strong>7 points<\/strong>, indicating a significant therapeutic benefit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The drug works by <strong>inhibiting aldosterone<\/strong>, a hormone that contributes to resistant hypertension.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Over <strong>285 patients<\/strong> participated in the multicenter trial across the U.S., including patients from UC San Diego Health and Cleveland Clinic.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A <strong>Phase III trial is already planned<\/strong>, aiming to validate results on a broader population.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"rtex-highlighter-1\">What Is Lorundrostat and How Does It Work?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Lorundrostat is an <strong>investigational aldosterone synthase inhibitor<\/strong>\u2014a drug designed to block the production of aldosterone, a hormone that raises blood pressure by increasing salt retention and vascular tension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike general antihypertensives, lorundrostat <strong>directly targets hormonal imbalances<\/strong> in patients whose blood pressure remains uncontrolled despite conventional treatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This mechanism makes it a potential game-changer for those with <strong>resistant hypertension<\/strong>, a subtype affecting millions of patients worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"rtex-highlighter-1\">The Structure of the Clinical Trial<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The trial was carefully designed to isolate the drug\u2019s true impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>All 285 participants<\/strong> began with a <strong>three-week period<\/strong> of standardized antihypertensive treatment to establish a baseline.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After this phase, <strong>190 individuals<\/strong> were randomized to receive lorundrostat, while <strong>95 received a placebo<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Blood pressure was measured using <strong>24-hour ambulatory monitoring<\/strong> at the start, midpoint, and end of the 12-week period.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This method eliminated external variability and helped researchers confirm the <strong>direct effect of lorundrostat<\/strong> on systolic readings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"rtex-highlighter-1\">Results: Clinically Significant Blood Pressure Reductions<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The trial showed that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Patients receiving lorundrostat consistently achieved <strong>larger reductions in systolic pressure<\/strong>, averaging <strong>15 mmHg<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Placebo patients experienced smaller decreases, around <strong>7 mmHg<\/strong>, likely due to the background medication.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Although some participants&#8217; readings remained above optimal levels, the overall impact of lorundrostat was deemed <strong>statistically and clinically significant<\/strong>, particularly for a population that had previously failed to respond to other drugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"rtex-highlighter-1\">A New Direction in Hypertension Treatment<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to <strong>Dr. Michael Wilkinson<\/strong>, the lead investigator and a cardiologist at UC San Diego Health:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cWe were specifically studying a new approach to addressing imbalanced aldosterone, which is an often underrecognized cause for treatment-resistant hypertension.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Wilkinson emphasized that many study participants had struggled to manage their hypertension with existing options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lorundrostat&#8217;s performance indicates that <strong>targeting aldosterone<\/strong> could become a <strong>central strategy in future treatment protocols<\/strong>, especially for underserved or difficult-to-treat populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"rtex-highlighter-1\">Population Diversity and Future Outlook<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A notable feature of the trial was its <strong>inclusivity<\/strong>: it involved patients from varied backgrounds, making the findings more <strong>applicable across diverse ethnic and socio-economic groups<\/strong>\u2014an often-missing component in cardiovascular studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next step is a <strong>Phase III clinical trial<\/strong>, aiming to validate the safety and effectiveness of lorundrostat in a <strong>larger, more heterogeneous patient population<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If results remain consistent, the drug could gain regulatory approval as a <strong>first-in-class treatment<\/strong> for resistant hypertension.<\/p>\n\r\n\t\t\t<div id=\"daexthefu-container\"\r\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"daexthefu-container daexthefu-layout-side-by-side daexthefu-alignment-left\"\r\n\t\t\t\tdata-post-id=\"443115\">\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefu-feedback\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefu-text\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"daexthefu-title\">Was this helpful?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefu-buttons-container\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefu-buttons\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefu-yes daexthefu-button daexthefu-button-type-text\" data-value=\"1\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefu-button-text\">Yes<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefu-no daexthefu-button daexthefu-button-type-text\" data-value=\"0\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefu-button-text\">No<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefu-comment\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefu-comment-top-container\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<label id=\"daexthefu-comment-label\" class=\"daexthefu-comment-label\"><\/label>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefu-comment-character-counter-container\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"daexthefu-comment-character-counter-number\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"daexthefu-comment-character-counter-number\"><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefu-comment-character-counter-text\"><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<textarea id=\"daexthefu-comment-textarea\" class=\"daexthefu-comment-textarea\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tplaceholder=\"Type your message\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmaxlength=\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t400\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"><\/textarea>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefu-comment-buttons-container\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"daexthefu-comment-submit daexthefu-button\">Submit<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"daexthefu-comment-cancel daexthefu-button\">Cancel<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"daexthefu-successful-submission-text\">Thanks for your feedback!<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UC San Diego researchers find that lorundrostat significantly lowers blood pressure in resistant hypertension. See what this means for future treatment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":443123,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_helpful_status":1,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[736,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-443115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-blood-pressure"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theemtspot.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theemtspot.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theemtspot.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theemtspot.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theemtspot.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443115"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.theemtspot.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":538403,"href":"https:\/\/www.theemtspot.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443115\/revisions\/538403"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theemtspot.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theemtspot.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theemtspot.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theemtspot.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}