The effect of menaquinone-7 supplementation on vascular calcification in patients with diabetes: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Zwakenberg SR, de Jong PA, Bartstra JW, et al. · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Femoral arterial calcification on 18F-sodium-fluoride PET tended to increase on MK-7 rather than decrease (0.25 higher target-to-background ratio, 95% CI -0.02 to 0.51, P=0.06), with no effect on CT calcification mass, even though inactive matrix Gla protein fell by 206 pmol/L and no adverse events were reported. The biomarker moved as designed and the imaging endpoint did not follow it.

Population

Men and women with type 2 diabetes and known cardiovascular disease, 6 months

Intervention

MK-7 360 ug/day

Comparator

Placebo

Limitations

Sixty completers over only 6 months; 18F-NaF PET activity is a novel measure whose interpretation the authors say needs further work; registered as NCT02839044; funded by a Dutch Heart Foundation grant.