Forebrain Electroneutral Transporters in Salt-sensitive Hypertension: an MRI Study

The overall objective of this project is to identify the key salt-sensing regions of the brain and determine the underlying mechanism of sodium sensing. The investigators will assess how the brain responds to an acute increase of salt in the blood using MRI. This will be done during a 30-minute infusion of a saline solution containing 3% salt. One trial will be conducted with a salt sensing channel blocker and one trial without the salt sensing channel blocker. This will help to assess the role of a specific salt sensing channel in the brain. Salt sensitivity of BP will be assessed using 7-day dietary feeding where participants will be given food to consume for 7-days. Comparisons will be made between salt resistant (no change in blood pressure going from low to high salt diets) and salt sensitive adults (a change in blood pressure going from low to high salt diets). The investigators think the changes in MRI will be greater in salt sensitive compared to salt resistant subjects.

NCT Number	NCT06094816
Lead Sponsor	University of Delaware Collaborators: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Conditions	Salt-Sensitivity of Blood Pressure
Enrollment	120 participants
Start Date	2024-03-05
Primary Completion	2028-01-01 (estimated)
Study Completion	2028-07-01 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-03-24