Researchers have developed a new drug called nitrosyl-cobinamide which may be used to treat hypertension and other heart diseases. Cobinamide is a vitamin B12 analog, and, in fact, is the penultimate compound in the biosynthesis of vitamin B12 by bacteria.

The UCSD investigators have shown that cobinamide binds relatively tightly to nitric oxide (NO), forming nitrosyl-cobinamide. Because the binding is reversible, nitrosyl-cobinamide can be used as a NO donor. NO is produced by most cells in the body, and helps regulate a variety of physiological functions including maintaining blood pressure, optimizing heart function, and serving as a neurotransmitter.

Preliminary data on animals and isolate mouse hearts have shown that the drug acts similarly as current drugs for angina, nitroglycerin and sodium nitroprusside. As a vitamin B12 analog, it appears to be non-toxic at the doses that would be required to treat angina or acute hypertension. Further pre-clinical and pharmacokinetic studies are ongoing.

The results of this study will apear in the December issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine.

Source: EurekAlert