Pioneering gene therapy may spare future heart attack patients from irreversible and life-shortening cardiac damage, according to researchers.
Scientists at Scotland’s University of Edinburgh say they’ve identified genes that are “switched on” following a heart attack. These genes trigger immediate and future cell death — and ultimately lead to the development of incurable heart failure. But the team says the breakthrough discovery paves the way for targeted treatments to “switch off” the rogue genes.
The experts say they pinpointed the troublesome genes by comparing samples of tissue from the discarded hearts of patients who’d recently had a heart attack and received a transplant with those of healthy individuals.
Dr. Mairi Brittan, who is spearheading the research, says, “We can essentially map the gene expression of a human patient’s heart attack, which has never been possible before.”
“We want to find treatments that can be given to patients at an early stage to prevent heart failure occurring.”
Potential gene therapy treatments could involve altering cells and reintroducing them to the body or stimulating genes that help cells in the blood vessels and heart to repair themselves.
Brittan adds, “Several other species, like the zebrafish, can repair their own heart muscle, and we want to replicate this in humans.”
“We want to target genes and promote more successful repair that would, in turn, salvage the damaged areas of heart muscle.”
According to the CDC, more than 800,000 Americans suffer heart attacks each year, and heart failure contributes to nearly 300,000 deaths annually.
