Maresca AM, et al. - Among otherwise healthy patients, untreated and recently diagnosed with mild hypertension, researchers measured the soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) values as well as their relation to blood pressure (BP) values, metabolic parameters, and with subclinical initial signs of cardiac target organ damage (TOD, presence of signs of left ventricular hypertrophy: left ventricular mass indexed for height2.7 (LVMi) > 48 g/m2.7 for men and > 44 g/m2.7 for women and/or increased left atrial volume 4-chamber indexed for body surface area (LAVi) > 34 ml/m2). Participants were 100 hypertensive and 100 normotensive subjects matched for age, gender and body mass index (BMI). In multivariable analysis, an independent association of sRAGE with cardiac TOD was revealed in hypertensive patients. The ability of low circulating sRAGE to possibly serve as a very early marker of initial TOD was suggested in this patient populace. This implies oxidative stress may be involved in initial cardiac changes in human hypertension.