WHOA! I have a lot of research to do… stand by because I’m sure I’ll be back…. Once again, thank you !
AFAICS The retracted paper was about MK4
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After going over the 2026 study with Opus (‘he’ could not get behind the paywall and only read the editorial, pasted below ), I was about to hang up my k, but I found there was a study that used CTTA looking at soft plaque while taking k2 Mk7 and found no increase of soft plaque.
I can’t read a study to save my life and depend on AI, so I’d love to hear what you think. I imagine this has already been posted and discussed somewhere.
The study from 2023 that used CTTA with an AI summary
Here are the key details on the study (Hasific et al., JACC: Advances 2023; this is a secondary/report analysis from the AVADEC trial focusing on coronary outcomes in men without prior ischemic heart disease).
Population and design
- Multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled RCT (Denmark).
- 389 participants were randomized; 304 men (mean age 71 years) without prior ischemic heart disease were included in this CAC/plaque analysis.
- Original AVADEC population: community men aged 65–74 with aortic valve calcification score ≥300 AU on non-contrast CT.
- Duration: 24 months.
- Intervention: daily vitamin K2 as MK-7 (menaquinone-7) 720 μg (specifically K2VITAL DELTA) + vitamin D 25 μg (1,000 IU) versus matching placebo.
Imaging
- Non-contrast ECG-gated cardiac CT at baseline, 12 months, and 24 months for CAC scoring (Agatston method) and calcium mass.
- Contrast-enhanced ECG-gated coronary CT angiography (CCTA) at baseline and 24 months for quantitative plaque volume analysis (calcified and non-calcified/soft plaque volumes).
- Only 86 participants had two evaluable contrast CT scans suitable for plaque volumetry (the rest were excluded mainly due to image quality issues). This is a relatively small subset for the soft-plaque data.
- No mention of Cleerly (or any specific commercial AI plaque analysis platform such as Cleerly, HeartFlow, etc.) in the published reports. It used quantitative CCTA plaque volumetry (standard attenuation-based segmentation into non-calcified and calcified components). Results are reported as absolute volume changes in mm³.
Main relevant results
- Overall CAC progression (full 304): neutral trend favoring supplementation (Δ203 AU intervention vs Δ254 AU placebo, P = 0.089).
- Subgroup with baseline CAC ≥400: significantly less progression with MK-7 + D (Δ288 vs Δ380 AU, P = 0.047).
- Non-calcified (soft) plaque volume (n=86 subset): −6 mm³ (intervention) vs +46 mm³ (placebo), P = 0.172. Not statistically significant, but the direction showed no increase (and a numerical decrease) with supplementation.
- Calcified plaque volume changes were also non-significant between groups.
- Safety composite (MI + coronary revascularization + all-cause death): fewer events with supplementation (1.9% vs 6.7%, P = 0.048).
- Biomarker: significant reduction in dp-ucMGP (inactive matrix Gla protein), confirming the MK-7 was biologically active.
Limitations specific to the soft-plaque finding
- Small number of participants with usable serial CCTA (86).
- Not the primary endpoint.
- Men only, older age group, selected for aortic valve calcification.
- Image-quality exclusions could introduce selection bias.
- No detailed high-risk plaque features (e.g., low-attenuation plaque, positive remodeling) or AI-based advanced phenotyping reported in the main papers.
This is one of the better available imaging datasets looking at soft-plaque change with relatively high-dose MK-7 + D. It provides modest reassurance that soft-plaque volume did not expand, but the sample for that endpoint is limited and the overall CAC result was neutral outside the high-CAC subgroup. It does not use Cleerly-style AI analysis.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772963X23006208
The editorial of the 2026 study
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In the end i monitor what i think it does to me. I probably take more mk7 than anyone else on the planet.
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This is reassuring to know. What do you find it does for you?
It seems to soup up the mitochondria in a more general basis. That is to increase cardiac function and also to reduce the impact of alcohol.
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