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A class of drugs already on the market to lower blood pressure appears to reduce adults' risk of developing epilepsy, researchers have discovered. The finding comes out of an analysis of the medical records of more than 2 million Americans taking blood pressure medications. The study suggests that the drugs, called angiotensin receptor blockers, could prevent epilepsy in people at highest risk of the disease, including older adults who have had strokes. "This is incredibly exciting because we don't currently have any medicines that prevent epilepsy," said Kimford Meador, MD. In older adults, the most common risk factor for developing...

Ralph Baric, PhD, perked up when he saw that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 illness, enters the lungs through ACE2 receptors, and that people with hypertension have worse outcomes than those with any other underlying condition. "I've thought it needed to be explored in more detail for quite a while," said Baric, a professor of epidemiology, microbiology, and immunology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who has been studying coronavirus outbreaks for decades. Researchers and doctors are trying to determine whether the spike in serious COVID-19 illness in those with baseline...