Women choosing repeat cesarean deliveries and having them at term but before completing 39 weeks gestation are up to two times more likely to have a baby with serious complications including respiratory distress resulting in mechanical ventilation and NICU admission. UAB researchers, led by Alan T.N. Tita, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the UAB Department
Full Post: Repeat cesarean deliveries before 39 weeks raises risk of neonatal illness
Long-term gene therapy resulted in improved cardiac function and reversed deterioration of the heart in rats with heart failure, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University’s Center for Translational Medicine.
The study was published online in Circulation .
The rats were treated with a gene that generates a peptide called ?ÒARKct, which was administered to hearts in combination with recombinant-adeno-associated virus serotype 6 (rAAV6). ?ÒARKct works by inhibiting the activation of G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2).
GRK2 is a kinase that is increased in heart failure myocardium. Enhanced GRK enzymatic activity contributes to the deterioration of the heart in heart failure, according to Walter J. Koch, Ph.D., the W.W. Smith Professor of Medicine and the director of the Center for Translational Medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Koch’s research team carried out the study, which was led by Giuseppe Rengo, M.D., a post-doctoral fellow.
“The theory is that by inhibiting this kinase, the heart will recover partially due to reversal of the desensitization of the ?Ò-adrenergic receptors,” Dr. Koch said. “The expression of ?ÒARKct leads to a negative neurohormonal feedback that prevents the heart from continuing on the downward slope during heart failure. This was one novel finding of the study.”
Dr. Koch and his colleagues used five groups of rats in their study. Two groups received rAAV6 with the ?ÒARKct peptide, two groups received rAAV6 with green fluorescent protein (GFP), and the last group received a saline treatment. One of the ?ÒARKct groups and one of the GFP groups also received the beta blocker metoprolol concurrently.
Twelve weeks after receiving the treatment, the rats who received the ?ÒARKct had a significantly increased left ventricular ejection fraction. The treatment also reversed the left ventricular deterioration and normalized the neurohormonal status. Dr. Koch said that targeting the GRK2 enzyme with ?ÒARKct was sufficient to reverse heart failure even without concomitant metoprolol.
The rats that received GFP or saline alone experienced more deterioration of cardiac function during the course of the study. This deterioration was prevented, but not reversed, with the concomitant metoprolol.
“Our data show that beta blockers and the ?ÒARKct peptide are compatible and can be given together,” Dr. Koch said. “Although beta blockers are effective at stopping the downward progression of the disease, they do not reverse the damage already done. That is where the ?ÒARKct gene therapy comes in.”
In future trials in humans, the ?ÒARKct peptide will be administered with beta blockers, which are the standard treatment. However, Dr. Koch said that if a pharmaceutical inhibitor can be developed, then a new class of drugs to treat heart failure could possibly even replace beta blockers.
http://www.jeffersonhospital.org/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Posts:
While the treatment of heart failure has improved over the past two decades, a new study reported in the European Journal of Heart Failure finds that “the use of evidence-based treatments appears to be imbalanced according to the gender of the patient”. In particular, the study found that female patients were less frequently treated
Full Post: The drug treatment of heart failure is influenced by the gender of the patient and of the physician
Blood levels of resistin, a hormone produced by fat cells, can independently predict an individual’s risk of heart failure, cardiologists at Emory University School of Medicine have found. Their findings were presented Nov. 12 at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions conference in New Orleans. “This is one of the strongest predictors of new-onset heart
Full Post: Blood levels of resistin a new biomarker for heart failure
Blood levels of resistin, a hormone produced by fat cells, can independently predict an individual’s risk of heart failure, cardiologists at Emory University School of Medicine have found. Their findings were presented Nov. 12 at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions conference in New Orleans. “This is one of the strongest predictors of new-onset heart
Full Post: Blood levels of resistin a new biomarker for heart failure
A compound designed to prevent chest pains in heart patients has shown promising results in animal studies, say scientists. In the second issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology to be published by Wiley-Blackwell, researchers from the Centre de Recherche Pierre Fabre in France, show that the novel compound F15845 has anti-angina activity and can
Full Post: Novel compound F15845 shows promise for angina
Up until today scientists assumed that the adult heart is unable to regenerate. Now, researchers and cardiologists from the Max Delbr?nter for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and the Charité - Universit?medizin Berlin (Germany) have been able to show that this dogma no longer holds true. Dr. Laura Zelarayán and Assistant Professor Dr. Martin W. Bergmann
Full Post: Heart regenerates after infarction --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
