Several friends asked Huazi, I heard that now that there is a hypertension vaccine, is it possible to cure hypertension? Is a needle in the treatment of high blood pressure better than oral antihypertensive drugs?
Huazi said that there is indeed a hypertension vaccine now, and in the 8th edition of "Pharmacology", it has been written that the hypertension vaccine CYT006-AngQb is safe and effective in the treatment of hypertension, but this conclusion is only preliminarily confirmed in clinical trials, and it will take some time before the hypertension vaccine is on the market.
First, what is the hypertension vaccine
Hypertension vaccine is not the same as the vaccine in the ordinary sense, we are familiar with the flu vaccine, hepatitis B vaccine, etc., in order to prevent the occurrence of disease vaccines, is injected into healthy people. The hypertension vaccine, which is a vaccine to treat diseases, can only be injected by people who have already suffered from high blood pressure, and cannot be used for healthy people to prevent high blood pressure.
The mechanism of hypertension vaccine is to induce the body's immune system to produce angiotensin antibodies, inhibit the action of angiotensin, and thus produce a hypotensive effect. With the current experimental results, the effect of the hypertension vaccine can not be once and for all, the effect of each injection can only be maintained for several months, and continuous injection is required to maintain the antihypertensive effect.
Second, it is not yet possible to completely separate from oral drugs
Hypertension vaccines have a single target, and the antibodies produced can only inhibit the effects of angiotensin. In terms of antihypertensive mechanism, hypertension vaccines have similar effects to those of pry (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors) and sartans (angiotensin-2 receptor antagonists).
If the hypertension condition is not severe, people taking a single drug may not need to continue taking oral medication after taking the hypertension vaccine. However, 70% of hypertensive patients, relying on only one antihypertensive drug can not completely control hypertension, the need for a combination of antihypertensive drugs can be.
Hypertension vaccine can only replace the effect of "puly" or "sartan", and people who need to use drugs such as dipenetrine, lore, and diuretics in combination still cannot stop taking drugs and need to take other oral drugs regularly.
Third, what is the significance of the hypertension vaccine
Some people may wonder, since the hypertension vaccine can not solve the hypertension once and for all, and it is similar to the mechanism of "Puli" and "Sartan", and can not completely stop oral drugs, then what is the significance of developing this vaccine?
The significance of hypertension vaccine is that it can improve patient compliance.
Hypertension is the chronic disease with the largest number of patients in the world, and hundreds of millions of people need to take medication for a long time to control their blood pressure. During treatment, the biggest cause of treatment failure is not the ineffectiveness of antihypertensive drugs, but the difficulty of patients to maintain regular medication. That is to say, there are many patients with high blood pressure who fail treatment because they forget to take their medications.
The hypertension vaccine, which requires a single injection only once a few months, greatly improves patient compliance.
Fourth, life intervention and drug treatment can not be less
The development of hypertension vaccines has been proposed since the 1950s. China's earliest hypertension vaccine study was reported in 2012. The development of a hypertension vaccine is a long process that is estimated to take at least 10 years. So the most optimistic estimate is that we will see the results in 2022.
But even with a hypertension vaccine, there is only one more way to control angiotensin. For the control of most high blood pressure, it is still necessary to carry out multi-drug combination on the basis of life intervention, which cannot achieve the effect of not taking medicine without taking a needle, nor can it cure hypertension.
However, many new antihypertensive drugs are also under simultaneous development, such as vasoactive peptide inhibitors, aldosterone synthase inhibitors, soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors, natriuretic peptide agonists, vasoactive intestinal peptide 2 receptor agonists, and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists.
It is believed that in the near future, human beings will have more weapons to treat high blood pressure. At this stage, maintaining regular medication, eating less salt, controlling weight, and exercising more according to the doctor's instructions is still the best way to control blood pressure.
To sum up, the hypertension vaccine is still in the experimental stage and has not yet mature products on the market. It is a therapeutic vaccine that can only be used in people who already have high blood pressure, but it cannot be treated once and for all. At present, the treatment of hypertension, the use of antihypertensive drugs under the guidance of a doctor, is the most effective method. If you have any questions about medication, consult a doctor or pharmacist. I am a pharmacist Huazi, welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.