Michael H. Alderman

Not surprisingly, lacking precedent or experience, our enterprise cannot boast a fully articulated blueprint or even a precise roadmap. We have exchanged repres

The idea for a workshop focused on sodium and health was generated by the editors of the American Journal of Hypertension and the Chinese Journal of Hypertension as part of their emerging collaboration. It reflects a belief that scientists and clinicians interested in blood pressure and its related conditions would profit from more effective communication and interaction. Salt was chosen as a central topic because of its multiple physiological and pathological effects, its importance to human health, its role in elevating blood pressure, the unresolved scientific issues, and the absence of an agreed public health response regarding dietary sodium. In addition, much current clinical and population research has begun to shed light on how the interaction of genetics, environment, and diet determines the impact of sodium intake on human health and disease. Surprisingly, given the often passionate professional interest, there has been no regular forum dedicated to an exchange of new knowledge and current research findings. The biomedical literature provides strong evidence that investigators around the world are generating important new findings that increase understanding of how dietary sodium may relate to both health and disease. Given the widely shared need and interest, the workshop’s organizers hope that the experience in Xi’an will lead to the appearance of regular working meetings on sodium and human disease on the international scientific schedule. The ultimate goal is for this scientific discourse to lead to evidence-based programs for population salt consumption that will contribute to the betterment of human health.

Theodore White famously entitled a book “Thunder out of China” which recounted his experiences and insights as a correspondent for Time magazine in China throughout World War II. He was prescient about the potential for China and the Chinese people. Now, more than 60 years later, his expectations have been more than met. Not least among these accomplishments has been the explosion of science and biomedical science in particular.

The real value of this pathway will be measured by how much the current 50% control rate of treated hypertensive patients can be improved. The label of true RH

Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs) accurately measure the relative health effects of medical interventions. Randomization and blinding protect against bias, both in assignment of treatment and in implementation, and eliminate confounding by known and, even more importantly, unrecognized, factors relating to the patients. RCTs are unsurpassed in their capacity to determine drug efficacy, and are an excellent first step in establishing drug safety. Justifiably, therefore, they have become a gold standard for clinical practice. But there are still aspects of clinical trials—particularly those that focus on blood pressure or diabetes—that should alert consumers to the need for caution before applying their results.

New onset diabetes (NOD) is common among hypertensive patients, whether they are being treated for hypertension or not, and is associated with subseq

As investigators and practitioners in the area of blood pressure-related diseases continue to gain new knowledge and understanding, the exciting challenge of pr