A Swiss researcher from Lausanne presented a novel concept at the recent American Heart Association meeting. Professor Nussberger reported early results with a vaccine that would treat high blood pressure, thereby obviating the need for patients to take drugs every day. It would work by inhibiting angiotensin II, a molecule that constricts blood vessels and raises blood pressure. Several drugs work the same way, including the ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors and the ARBs (angiotensin receptor blockers).

Volunteers - 65 men and 7 women in their 50s - with mild to moderate high blood pressure were injected with 100 or 300 micrograms of the vaccine or a placebo at baseline, and again 4 and 12 weeks later. After 14 weeks the systolic blood pressure was reduced, on average, by 5.6 mm Hg and the diastolic pressure by 2.8 mm Hg. More importantly, perhaps, the vaccine appeared to lessen the typical morning surge in blood pressure that occurs between 5:0 am and 8:0 am, lowering it by as much as 25 (systolic) and 13 (diastolic) mm Hg.

If (and it's a big if) this concept proves to be a valid approach to treating or preventing hypertension, it will make an enormous difference. For those who take antihypertensive drugs regularly, the vaccine will offer a welcome relief; and for the 30%-odd hypertensives who don't take any medication, it offers a much more acceptable form of treatment. As a member of the first group, I shall follow its development with interest.