ABSENCE OF LINKAGE OF THE EPITHELIAL SODIUM-CHANNEL TO HYPERTENSION IN BLACK CARIBBEAN

Hypertensives of African origin have low-renin, sodium-sensitive blood pressure and respond poorly to treatment with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors. The epithelial sodium channel may be important in t he pathogenesis of essential hypertension in this population. This is supported by the identification of mutations within this channel, whic h lead to excess sodium reabsorption and hypertension in Liddle's synd rome. In this study we tested whether there was linkage of the genes e ncoding the three subunits of the epithelial sodium channel to essenti al hypertension in 63 affected sibling pairs of West African origin fr om St. Vincent and the Grenadines. We found no support for linkage of the epithelial sodium channel to essential hypertension in this popula tion. However, further studies will be needed in larger populations of African ancestry to exclude a contribution of the genes encoding the epithelial sodium channel to hypertension. Am J Hypertens 1998;11:942- 945 (C) 1998 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd.