Spontaneously hypertensive rats and mice may have an overactive orexin system as (1) blocking OXRs produces significant anti-hypertensive effects in SHRs, (2) the expression of OX-A mRNA in increased in RVLM in SHRs and (3) the pp-OX/Hcrt gene is upregulated in hypothalamus in hypertensive BPH/2J mice. The gene discussed is HCRT; the disease is benign prostatic hyperplasia.