A vitamin B12 derivative could potentially be used to treat hypertension and heart disease

Investigators at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have developed a new drug called nitrosyl-cobinamide. 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.