Salt consumption, reactive oxygen species and cardiovascular ageing: a hypothetical link.
Opinions about the impact of dietary salt on blood pressure have dominated the debate regarding 'salt sensitivity', which can be broadly defined as the blood pressure response to changes in sodium intake among individuals in a population. However, the larger question is whether salt consumption exerts significant biological effects independent of changes in blood pressure. Provisional answers to this question are reviewed based on newly discovered links between sodium metabolism and the generation of reactive oxygen species. These links suggest that, in a subset of the general population, salt consumption is a determinant in cardiovascular ageing.
Aviv
Abraham
A
Hypertension Research Center, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey 07103, USA. avivab@umdnj.edu
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002319:Cardiovascular System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007668:Kidney / Q000503:physiopathology; D008954:Models, Biological; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism; D012982:Sodium, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects
D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D012982:Sodium, Dietary; D012964:Sodium