A four-monthly jab may one day replace the need to regularly take pills to control blood pressure, scientists say. A team from the Swiss biotechnology firm Cytos found the vaccine against a hormone in the blood significantly cut blood pressure, the Lancet reported. The jab was tested on 72 patients with high blood pressure and it was found to work without serious side-effects. The researchers and independent experts said the findings were promising but large-scale trials were now needed. High blood pressure, which affects a quarter of all adults, doubles the risk of dying from heart disease or stroke and is blamed for 60,000 deaths a year in UK. Those who are being treated for it often have to take a daily course of pills to keep it under control. But many people do not keep to their treatment regimes as people with high blood pressure do not display symptoms. The researchers believe the vaccine, which works against the hormone angiotensin, which causes blood vessels to constrict and increase blood pressure, may offer a simple alternative. They tested two different doses of the vaccine – 300 microgrammes and 100 microgrammes – as […]