Early-life sodium loss and brain signals that shape long-term heart and metabolism health
Official title: Project 3: Early Life Sodium Depletion Programs Autonomic, Cardiovascular, and Metabolic Disease via Activation of the Brain RAS
Funded at Medical College of Wisconsin · NIH-11420078 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project studies how losing sodium in early life can set the brain’s pressure and salt-checking system to influence heart and metabolic health later on.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Medical College of Wisconsin NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Milwaukee, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $454,632 |
| NIH project number | 1P01HL180287-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11420078 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults or parents concerned about early-life factors affecting heart/metabolic risk, or researchers seeking translational insights for pediatric populations.
✕Less likely to help
Direct patient benefit would be limited until future translational steps translate findings into interventions.
What this research studies
Researchers will use mouse models with genetic tweaks to study how low sodium in early life affects brain pathways that control blood pressure, kidney function, and metabolism. They aim to connect early sodium depletion to long-term cardiometabolic risks by looking at brain angiotensin signaling and autonomic outputs. The work builds on existing data showing the brain’s renin-angiotensin system may drive these lasting changes. This could point to new ways to prevent cardiometabolic problems that originate in infancy.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Better understanding of how early-life sodium balance affects lifelong heart and metabolic health could lead to new prevention strategies for at-risk individuals.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies have linked early-life sodium balance and brain signaling to later cardiometabolic outcomes, with some mechanistic findings supporting this approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Medical College of Wisconsin
Milwaukee, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Segar, Jeffrey L — Medical College of Wisconsin
- Study coordinator: Segar, Jeffrey L
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.