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Angiotensin Vaccine For High Blood Pressure?

A recent small trial has shown that injection with an angiotensin II vaccine may be a very effective treatment for high blood pressure. This vaccine would last for a period of months and appears to control daily fluctuations in blood pressure better than pills.

Several effective drugs for blood pressure control target the renin-angiotensin system. This new vaccine targets part of this system, the protein angiotensin II. In blood, this protein causes blood vessels to contract, and also increases the volume of blood, both of which increase blood pressure.

Uncontrolled high blood pressure is very common. Many do not know that they have a problem. However, for those who do know that their pressure is elevated, it is often poorly controlled. There are two common reasons for poor control.

1. Many people do not take their medications regularly. It is easy to forget to take pills after having been taking them for a while. This is especially true of diseases like hypertension that do not have any symptoms; there is not the reminder of the symptoms to take the pills.

2. Even for those who do take their medication regularly, blood pressure may not be properly controlled throughout the whole day. It is quite common to have high blood pressure first thing in the morning.

The new vaccine would overcome both of these problems.

However, there are some potential problems with the vaccine. As with any vaccine against a protein that is naturally in the body, there can be the potential for the development of autoimmunity, so that your body attacks itself. The renin-angiotensin system is necessary for volume and salt balance in the body, so it may be harder to control the dose with a vaccine, and ensure that the volume regulation system is at least partially functional.

It will be interesting to see if in larger trials the angiotensin II vaccine is effective in the long term. If it is, it will provide a powerful and much needed new approach to lowering blood pressure.

For a fuller description of the workings of the renin-angiotensin system and how it is targeted by blood pressure drugs.

 

This article has been published in Ezine Articles.