Determined at Birth? Kidney makeup may set hypertension risk

In the kidneys, clusters of capillaries and tubes called nephrons filter gallons of blood every day and direct the impurities to the urine. According to a current theory, people lacking a full complement of nephrons are at increased risk of developing high blood pressure.

A study from Germany now finds hard evidence for this phenomenon and suggests that the number of nephrons in each person’s kidney is set at birth.