In a pioneering, just-completed prospective randomized human clinical trial in patients with chronic renal disease, the cardiovascular effects of oral administration of vitamin K2 (MenaQ7 brand) plus vitamin D or vitamin D alone were evaluated. In this six-month study, the progression of coronary artery calcification index (CAC) and common carotid intima media thickness (CCA-IMT)—both markers of calcium deposits in arteries detected with computerized tomography—showed a slower progression of the calcification in the vitamin K2/vitamin D group than detected in the vitamin D-alone group of patients.
 
Prof. Michal Nowicki, the principal investigator, and Ilona Kurnatowska, MD, PhD, a lead author on the study both from Department of Nephrology, Hypertension and Kidney Transplantation, Medical University, Lodz, Poland, noted, “In this study, the K2 and D protected against cardiovascular calcification, while the D group alone did not. Clearly, this has positive implications for human health.” The clinical data was presented at 50th ERA-EDTA Congress, May 18-21, Istanbul, Turkey, and published by Oxford University press in Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation.
 
Hogne Vik, CEO in NattoPharma ASA, Oslo, Norway, the manufacturer of MenaQ7, the vitamin K2 used in the study, stated that, “to the best of my knowledge this is the first clinical evaluation showing that progression of arterial calcification can be prevented with supplemental vitamin K2.” The study abstract titled, “The effect of vitamin K2 supplementation on atherosclerosis and vascular calcification makers in non-dialyzed patients in chronic kidney disease stage 3-5,” was published in an abstract form by the Oxford University Press in Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation.      
 
For more information: www.nattopharma.com