New way to keep blood vessels young?

VALHALLA, N.Y., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Inhibiting the natural pro-inflammatory, TNFa, may reduce age-related high blood pressure, heart attack, and strokes, say New York scientists.

Researchers Anna Csiszar and Zoltan Ungvari of the New York Medical College in Valhalla found that higher levels of TNFa, a protein that can attack and destroy tumor cells, were associated with blood vessel aging and an increase in inflammation-related vascular disease, including heart failure.

They used the rheumatoid arthritis drug etanercept -- sold as Enbrel -- that binds and inactivates circulating TNFa in a series of experiments with aged rats, with several notable findings.

First, advanced aging is associated with high levels of TNFa, which promotes high blood pressure by keeping the blood vessels from relaxing. Second, when Enbrel blocked TNFa, cell death in aged vessels decreased. Third, TNFa is released into the blood and has systemic effects, but is also active within blood vessel walls; and fourth, when the arteries of young rats were exposed to high levels of TNFa, they developed the features of vascular aging.

A report on the research is published in the January issue of the American Journal of Pathology.