News - Hypertension Week of November 9, 2003/ Vol. 2 No. 45

Study: Nitrite May Be Potential New Therapy for Hypertension

Nitrite's ability to improve blood flow by opening blood vessels may make it a potential new treatment for high blood pressure, according to a study to be reported in the December issue of Nature Medicine.

"The importance of this work is that no one considered this molecule to have any significant function and it is relatively abundant in the blood stream," said study co-author Dr. Mark Gladwin, a senior researcher at the National Institutes of Health. He added that nitrite levels have been shown to be low in patients with high blood pressure.

Gladwin and co-researcher Dr. Richard Cannon III, also of NIH, studied eighteen healthy volunteers who were infused with sodium nitrite to determine whether nitrite affects blood flow. They found that blood flow increased by 175 percent.

"We saw a huge improvement in blood flow," said Gladwin. "Nitrite helps get more blood to regions of the body with low oxygen, such as kidneys, the heart, the brain and muscles. This has potential as a new therapy that was previously overlooked."

However, Gladwin warned that at high concentrations, nitrite can be toxic. He added that clinical trials now in progress at NIH are seeking to establish the clinical usefulness of nitrite in various diseases.

Nitrite is present not only in blood, but in leafy green vegetables and hot dogs. Further study will be needed to determine if dietary sources of nitrite affect blood flow and blood pressure.

Other sources: National Institues of Health