ALT-711 news: Experimental Drug Decreases Age-Related Blood Vessel Stiffening

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

From

http://www.lef.org/news/aging/2001/04/02/eng-newsrx/eng-newsrx_175617_72_7511065\

104045.html I quote:

Experimental Drug Decreases Age-Related Blood Vessel Stiffening

NewsRx.com

April 02, 2001

An experimental drug may reverse the stiffening of the cardiovascular system

that occurs with aging, according to

results of a clinical trial conducted at nine sites throughout the United

States.

Vascular stiffening and its increase in the pulsing of blood pressure and

systolic hypertension is a " huge

epidemiological problem, " affecting about half of all individuals over the age

of 60, says A. Kass, MD, professor

of medicine and biomedical engineering at s Hopkins Medical Institutions and

principal investigator of the trial.

In a group of older people who had evidence of vascular stiffening, the drug,

ALT-711, significantly reduced arterial

pulse pressure. It also improved the ability of blood vessels to stretch by up

to 18%. Many recent epidemiological

studies have shown that pulse pressure is the leading risk factor for

cardiovascular disease in the elderly.

During the trial, researchers studied 93 adults older than age 50 with

measurably stiffened blood vessels and a systolic

blood pressure of at least 140 mmHg. Patients took a drug tablet or a placebo

once a day for eight weeks. Researchers

recorded their blood pressure, the flexibility or compliance of their arteries,

and blood flow through the heart, among

other factors.

The medication works by breaking up advanced glycosylated crosslink endproducts

(known as AGE) that form between

proteins, and occur with aging and/or the altered body chemistry associated with

diabetes. These crosslinks particularly

target proteins that are long lived, such as the structural proteins in the

artery wall that are responsible for its

ability to stretch. The more crosslinks, the stiffer the related tissues. This

affects the cornea, bladder, arteries,

and possibly the heart. In the cardiovascular system, AGE results in a loss of

elasticity. This in turn causes an

increase in blood pressure pulsing, a change that is linked to vascular disease

and atherosclerosis, and also increases

the heart's workload. The latter is linked to an increased risk of heart attack,

heart failure, and coronary artery

disease.

" Prior drugs to treat this common type of blood pressure problem mostly have

focused on lowering the mean or average

pressure by relaxing the peripheral arteries that regulate resistance, " says

Kass. " ALT-711 appears to be different. It

acts on the larger vessels that regulate stiffness. This may represent a novel

therapeutic approach for patients with

arterial stiffening associated with aging, diabetes and systolic hypertension. "

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Good Health & Long Life,

Greg ,

http://www.ozemail.com.au/~gowatson

gowatson@...