Stang Chisanucha K .

Group 2

Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

Background Information:

Epigenetic is the study of possible heritable changes in gene that does not involve changes to the

underlying DNA sequence, which is a change in phenotype without a change in genotype. Epigenetic change

is commonly a natural matter that occurs in gene. There are so many influence factors that affect this

occurrence including age, lifestyle of individual and disease state. Epigenetic modifications can be shown as

the manner in which cells differentiate to end up as skin cells, liver cells, and brain cells. In some cases,

epigenetic change can result in diseases like cancer. DNA methylation, histone modification and non-coding

RNA are three systems that considered to initiate epigenetic change

High blood pressure (hypertension) is a common condition in which the long-term force of the blood

against your artery walls high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease.

Blood pressure is determined both by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to

blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your

blood pressure. When it makes heart works harder to pump blood out to the body, it contributes to harden the

arteries, stroke, and kidney disease internally, and also impact so many external causes.

High blood pressure can causes by both internal and external. First, internal causing, kidney fluid

and salt balances. Normally, kidneys work as controller of the bodys salt balance by maintaining sodium and

water and excreting potassium. When the imbalance of the kidneys occurs, it expands blood volumes of

individual and severely impact the occurrence of high blood pressure. Another internal causes of

hypertension is Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone system. This system makes angiotensin and aldosterone

hormone which narrow the blood vessels. It can impact to blood pressure increases. For the Aldosterone, it

regulates the kidney balance fluid and salt balance. The more aldosterone activity increases, the more the

kidney function get risk to reach the high blood pressure. Sympathetic is one of the internal causes of

Hypertension. Sympathetic Nervous System Activity plays major role in blood pressure regulation including

heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate. The imbalance of the sympathetic nervous system lead a huge
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change of high blood pressure. For the last examples of internal cause of the hypertension, Blood vessels

structure and function. In case of there are some changes of the blood vessel structure and function of arteries

occur, it may lead to high blood pressure. The angiotensin pathway and the immune system stiffen arteries

and increase the chance of getting hypertension.

For the external causes, there are many factors that leads to get high blood pressure. Being stressful

and smoking increase the blood pressure of individuals as same as being overweight or we known as obesity.

When you are having high weight of body balance, what you consumed in your body will be affected to

increase blood pressure. Lacking of physical activities is risky to get the hypertension because people will

not be able to move well when they cannot participate activities. Taking too much amount of salt in the diet

and taking too much alcohol consumption above the 2 drinks per day are dangerous too. Genetics and family

history of high blood pressure are one of the significant factor why people get hypertension. Since high

blood pressure can be transmitted via set of gene, genetics of parents can be transmitted to their children.

Older-aged people or elders are target of the high blood pressure. Old people tends to have hypertension

more than teenagers. Some diseases such as chronic kidney disease, Adrenal and thyroid disorders, and sleep

Apnea are also one of the external causes of getting high blood pressure.

To conclude, In both external causes and internal causes are linked. For example, The salt intakes. If

we have low blood pressure, the aldosterone which is secreted by adrenal cortex and stimulate kidney to

reabsorb sodium and water. This process can cause higher blood volume. (Figure 1) Therefore, blood

pressure can be caused by internal and external factors including the many genes in the body.
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Figure1 : Causing of blood pressure

Meditation is one of the best practice that can transform the mind. It is a technique that help

encouraging and developing concentration, clarity, emotional positivity, calmness

There are some studies and researches found that a routine of meditation act and mindfulness meditation tend

to benefits meditators to has numerous stress and health deduction. The epigenetic mechanisms like DNA

methylation and histone modifications can impact gene expression associated with reducing stress and better

of health.
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Moreover, meditation may be able to release stress and develop the individuals health. Firstly, being

meditating leads people to get lower harmful inflammation. Since the chronic inflammation is connected to a

host of issues, meditation may be able to stave off this detrimental inflammation such as depression,

Alzheimers disease, cancer, and obesity. According to the research, we investigated that a practice of

mindfulness meditation was linked to reduce expression of histone deacetylase genes. In case of meditation

frequently, meditators may physically and mentally get better stress. It also destroy harmful inflammation.

Not only can meditation reduce inflammation, it may also take good care and develop parts of chromosome

which exists in gene. This is called telomere length, the protective end caps on chromosomes and enzyme

telomerase. It can lengthen the telomeres and implicate in epigenetic because their lengths can influence

genes to be switched on or off. This process in chromosome can help the telomerase activities and produce

better psychological stress and physical health of meditators. Lastly, meditation and changes in lifestyle can

deduct risk probability of getting cancer disease. Based on the researchers and scientists in San Francisco,

they found that men with cancer who underwent a plenty of hours of long breathing and meditation exercise

as routine had improve gene expression that associated with cancer. Other activities and habits like slow

walking, jogging, or yoga can also help individuals improve their cancer naturally by decreasing expression

in genes.

Purpose : In this experiment, we want to prove that does meditation influence to the gene expression of

blood pressure. Since, There are many parts of the system in the body that relate to the causing of high blood

pressure, for this experiment only focus on the overall which is can meditation lowering the blood pressure

or not.

Question : Does meditation influence/relate to the gene expression of hypertension?

Hypothesis : If we have 100 people have high blood pressure, then 50 of them who meditate will have

lower blood pressure after meditation.

Experiment :

There are almost 3 mains organisms that scientists usually use for testing the experiment such as

cells, animals, and human. Because human are the complex organisms, so it easy to control their behaviour

of food taking and to observe. And because we studying about hypertension which is related to human body.

Thus, in this experiment we using 100 people who have high blood pressure, measure their blood pressure

before taking experiment. These people are mostly live in the similar environment and similar food taking
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because the food taking and the environment can influences the gene expression. Half of them will taking a

meditation 4 time per week and the rest will not take a meditation at all. Lastly we leave them live normally

for 6 months. Three months after we giving their job, measure all 100 people a blood pressure again. And

wait until month sixth , observing those people a blood pressure see that those who have taken the meditation

will have lower blood pressure from the past or not. If it lower, we will know that the meditation is

influences to gene expression.

Material :

100 people who have high blood pressure (hypertension)

meditation center

blood pressure monitor

Procedure :

-Taking 100 people who have high blood pressure

-Measure all of them a blood pressure before the experiment

-Let 50 of them taking meditation

-And the rest of them will be done nothing except controlling food intakes

-Measure all of them the blood pressure 2 times; three months after starting the experiment

and the last day of the experiment

-record and making a data

-compare both groups of people and conclude.

Implication :

The next experiment, I want to test that is caffeine effect to the blood pressure, and how it effects to

the gene expression. Since some of the research said that caffeine can help in exercising such as increasing

accuracy in hitting tennis ball and also increasing the exercising time. Because of there are not much

research about how caffeine effect the gene expression. Thus, I want to study overall first that does caffeine

relate to the gene expression or not.

References

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