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June 26, 2007

Vaccine developed for high blood pressure

26 June 2007 NewScientist.com news service

People often forget to pop their blood pressure tablets, so could a long-lasting vaccine work better instead? Cytos Biotechnology in Zurich, Switzerland, has created a drug that it claims can reduce blood pressure for months at a time. It works by fooling the body into making antibodies that mop up angiotensin II, a naturally occurring peptide that raises blood pressure by constricting vessels.

In a trial of 72 people, the drug CYT006-AngQb lowered systolic blood pressure by 25 millimetres of mercury compared with a placebo treatment, and diastolic pressure by 13 mmHg. Typical targets for a healthy adult are around 120 mmHg systolic and 80 mmHg diastolic, or 120/80.

"We can certainly reduce blood pressure, but whether it's enough to be clinically meaningful we can't say yet," says Martin Bachmann of Cytos, who presented the data at a meeting of the European Society of Hypertension in Milan, Italy, on 17 June. The effect was greatest in the morning, which is when most strokes and heart attacks occur.

Four months after the shot, only half of the antibodies were left, so people may need a top-up every six months, Bachmann says.

From issue 2609 of New Scientist magazine, 26 June 2007, page 15

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Printed on Tue Jun 26 13:40:29 BST 2007