A new laboratory trial on mice has shown that a vaccine developed for hypertension has showed promise in preventing the disease for at least six months.
Researchers from Osaka University in Japan might have discovered an effective way to reduce the mortality rate linked to metabolic syndrome, stroke and heart disease that are caused by high blood pressure.
The study, published in the journal Hypertension, was led by Hiroshi Koriyoma. He said in a statement reported by Japan Times, "The results show we are moving closer to curing hypertension. We want to start clinical trials of the vaccine on people in two or three years."
The researchers arrived to their findings by studying hypertensive rats. These rats were given three needleless injections at two-week intervals. They experienced lowered blood pressure for up to six months and thus, they had reduced tissue damage to the heart and blood vessels, reports Forbes.
According to Mayo Clinic, high blood pressure is a common condition wherein the force of the blood against the artery walls is high enough that it can lead to several health conditions like heart disease, stroke and kidney failure.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in the United States alone, around 70 million adults have hypertension which is equivalent to 1 to 3 adult's ratio. Worldwide, there are about 7.5 million deaths caused by raised blood pressure alone.
Present treatment options include taking in maintenance drugs which causes low compliance rates among patients. Thus, it causes serious complications like stroke and heart attack. If this vaccine would be proven to be effective in humans, it could reduce the burden on the patients by requiring shots for just twice a year rather than taking pills on a daily basis.
The researchers injected DNA vaccines made of angiotensin II to laboratory mice. Hence, angiotensin II antibodies were produced by the mice and their effect on the mice lasted for around six months, the study reported.
