1.
Casein hydrolysate containing Val-Pro-Pro and Ile-Pro-Pro improves central blood pressure and arterial stiffness in hypertensive subjects: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Nakamura, T, Mizutani, J, Ohki, K, Yamada, K, Yamamoto, N, Takeshi, M, Takazawa, K
Atherosclerosis. 2011;(1):298-303
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This trial evaluated the effects of casein hydrolysate containing milk-derived peptides, Val-Pro-Pro (VPP) and Ile-Pro-Pro (IPP), on central blood pressure and arterial stiffness. METHODS A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in 70 Japanese subjects aged 50-69 years with untreated stage-I hypertension. They were randomly assigned to two groups, which received either placebo tablets or active tablets containing 3.4 mg of VPP and IPP. At the beginning and end of the 8-week intervention, hemodynamic parameters, including central blood pressure and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), a marker of arterial stiffness, were measured. RESULTS A significant difference in changes in central systolic blood pressure between the groups was observed (active: -11.0±11.0 vs placebo: -4.5±9.6 mmHg, P<0.01). In the active group, reductions in baPWV (-73.9±130.0 vs -8.4±137.1 cm/s, P<0.05), brachial SBP (-10.5±11.5 vs -3.9±9.6 mmHg, P<0.05), and radial mean blood pressure (-7.3±8.9 vs -2.0±7.4 mmHg, P<0.01) were significantly greater as compared with the placebo group. CONCLUSION Casein hydrolysate containing VPP and IPP improves central SBP and baPWV in hypertensive subjects, which suggests VPP and IPP might have beneficial effects on arterial properties.
2.
Renin-angiotensin system blockade safely reduces blood pressure in patients with minor ischemic stroke during the acute phase.
Nakamura, T, Tsutsumi, Y, Shimizu, Y, Uchiyama, S
Journal of stroke and cerebrovascular diseases : the official journal of National Stroke Association. 2010;(6):435-40
Abstract
The ACCESS (Acute Candesartan Cilexetil Therapy in Stroke Survivors) study found that administration of candesartan in the acute phase of stroke confers a long-term benefit in patients who have sustained acute ischemic stroke. This treatment did not significantly reduce blood pressure (BP) during the acute phase, however. We assessed the short-term safety of reducing BP with renin-angiotensin system blockade in hypertensive patients who sustained acute ischemic stroke. Our randomized study compared the effects of 14 days of oral candesartan (4 mg/day), perindopril (4 mg/day), or conventional therapy (topical nitrate only when systolic BP (SBP) was ≥220 mm Hg or diastolic BP (DBP) was ≥120 mm Hg) administered to hypertensive patients within 72 hours of the onset of minor ischemic stroke. We assessed neurologic symptoms using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale and the modified Rankin Scale within 72 hours of stroke onset before and after drug therapy. A total of 40 patients completed the protocol. Therapy with candesartan and perindopril reduced SBP/DBP values by 23/11 mm Hg (SBP, P<.01; DBP, P=.07) and 14/0 mm Hg (SBP, P=.07), respectively, compared with conventional treatment. Neurologic symptoms worsened in 2 patients who received perindopril, which has no statistical significance, despite the BP reduction in patients given candesartan or perindopril. Our findings indicate that low doses of candesartan or perindopril safely reduce SBP in hypertensive patients with acute ischemic stroke.
3.
Beneficial potential of casein hydrolysate containing Val-Pro-Pro and Ile-Pro-Pro on central blood pressure and hemodynamic index: a preliminary study.
Nakamura, T, Mizutani, J, Sasaki, K, Yamamoto, N, Takazawa, K
Journal of medicinal food. 2009;(6):1221-6
Abstract
Pharmaceutical angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have been shown to reduce arterial stiffness; the possible effect of food-derived putative ACE inhibitory peptides on this degenerative process, however, has not been reported. In the present study, casein hydrolysate containing the lactotripeptides, Val-Pro-Pro (VPP) and Ile-Pro-Pro (IPP), which has been found to have an antihypertensive effect in a number of clinical studies, was investigated for its ability to improve hemodynamic parameters, including central systolic blood pressure (cSBP), in hypertensive subjects. Twelve hypertensive subjects who were not on prescribed medication were monitored for various hemodynamic parameters, including brachial blood pressure (peripheral blood pressure), cSBP, and augmentation index (AI), at the start and then after 3, 6, and 9 weeks of a daily treatment comprising four tablets containing VPP and IPP. Compared with basal levels, treatment with casein hydrolysate for 6 and/or 9 weeks showed a significant reduction in peripheral systolic and diastolic blood pressure, AI, and cSBP, but not in heart rate or pulse pressure. cSBP showed a reduction sooner and greater (-21.8 mm Hg) than did brachial systolic blood pressure (-16.4 mm Hg) during the 9-week treatment. Although small and not placebo-controlled, this study suggests that continuous intake of VPP and IPP might have the potential to improve arterial stiffness as well as cSBP and peripheral brachial blood pressure.