A daily pill targeting hormonal hypertension successfully lowered blood pressure and hormone levels without requiring surgery, according to a study published on Nov. 7, 2026, in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London tested a new class of drugs known as prolonged aldosterone synthase inhibitors, or EASI. The treatment addresses primary aldosteronism, a disorder of the adrenal glands that causes excessive production of the hormone aldosterone and triggers severe high blood pressure.
Worldwide, high blood pressure affects 1.4 billion people, according to data from the World Health Organization, with France accounting for 17 million cases. Between 5% and 10% of those patients suffer from primary aldosteronism.
The research team tracked 14 patients who received the EASI treatment for periods lasting between six and 12 months. Measurements taken during and up to two years after stopping the medication revealed that the primary marker for excessive aldosterone production dropped by 99% compared with pre-treatment levels. Patient blood pressure readings decreased by an average of 25 points.
“Nearly a quarter of the participants had normal blood pressure without taking other medications,” the authors said in a release reported by pourquoidocteur.fr.
Conventional blood pressure medications manage symptoms rather than addressing the underlying hormonal driver. The EASI treatment offers an alternative to lifelong medication or invasive surgery, which typically involves removing the entire adrenal gland.
“The EASI treatment is unlikely to be the magic bullet for most patients suffering from hypertension, but the possibility that tablets can provide a cure has long been a Holy Grail for this common type of hypertension,” said Morris Brown, lead author of the study, in a statement reported by pourquoidocteur.fr.
“The sustained remission of the biochemical markers of aldosteronism, coupled with a marked improvement in blood pressure, opens the very promising prospect that many patients with primary aldosteronism could be treated with a once-daily pill, potentially for a limited period, and obtain benefits similar to those we currently achieve only after invasive diagnostic exams and major adrenal surgery,” said Mason Freeman, according to pourquoidocteur.fr.
This trial will evaluate whether the EASI treatment can deliver durable cures for patients with primary aldosteronism on a broader scale.