Blood Pressure Shot May be on the Horizon
November 9th, 2007 Posted by: Dr. Cox
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — People who donât like swallowing pills everyday to control their blood pressure may one day have a new option.
Researchers are working on an injection that might be able to keep blood pressure under control for several months at a time.
The vaccine could markedly increase the number of people who gain adequate control of their blood pressure, because studies show many people balk at taking daily medications for the condition. Statistics suggest only about one out of every four people with high blood pressure has their blood pressure under good control.
The injection works by targeting angiotensin II, a molecule that constricts blood vessels and causes blood pressure to rise. Essentially, the vaccine causes the body to develop antibodies against angiotensin II, ridding much of it from the body.
In a preliminary study involving 72 men and women with mild-to-moderate high blood pressure, the vaccine delivered at the highest dose reduced daytime systolic blood pressure (the top number of a blood pressure reading) by 5.6 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number of a blood pressure reading) dropped by 2.8 mm Hg.
Most importantly, the vaccine put a halt to the typical surge in blood pressure seen in the early morning hours, which puts people at increased risk for heart attacks and strokes. The highest dose given in the study lowered early morning systolic blood pressure by 25 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by 13 mm Hg.
âAntibodies produced by the vaccine seem to function like a sponge,â study author Martin Bachmann, Ph.D., from Cytos Biotechnology AG in Zurich, Switzerland, was quoted as saying. âThe sponge empties out during the night when little angiotensin II is produced, so it is able to take up all the angiotensin II produced early in the morning.â
The authors note current drugs taken by mouth also target angiotensin II and another form of angiotensin called angiotensin I. But these drugs also increase an enzyme called renin that has been associated with kidney failure. The vaccine, however, only produced very low increases in that enzyme.
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SOURCE: Presented at the American Heart Associationâs Scientific Sessions 2007,
Nov. 7, 2007