Statins, a class of drugs that lower cholesterol and other fats in the blood, could revolutionie blood pressure management that could potentially benefit over 200 million people, who are on statins therapy, suggests a study.
Dr Raquibul Hasan, associate professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Mercer University College of Pharmacy in Atlanta, USA, has showed compelling evidences in favour of the statins’ aforementioned role in his presentation titled ‘Statins as a New Class of Blood Pressure Medications’ at a seminar.
The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences of North South University in Dhaka organized the seminar on Tuesday, said a press release.
Hasan’s research demonstrates that statins can rapidly relax blood vessels and lower blood pressure by selectively inhibiting phosphodiesterase1A (PDE1A) in vascular smooth muscle cells. This process, involving elevated cGMP levels and protein kinase G activation, presents a novel pathway for blood pressure regulation.
Hasan’s journey started at Jahangirnagar University, where he earned his Bachelor of Pharmacy and MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences. Following his doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge and postdoctoral research at the University of Tennessee, USA, he set up his first independent research laboratory at Mercer University in Atlanta.
Hasan’s laboratory is focused on investigating ion channels and G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) to advance the discovery of new drugs and repurpose existing therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, erectile dysfunction, and stroke.
As the principal investigator, Hasan, in the past three years, secured two American Heart Association grants totaling $600,000 and two National Institutes of Health grants exceeding $3.5 million.
