The leading cause of death in the United States, heart failure can be treated with gene therapy. A new study shows that the structure and function of the heart are improved in rats.
Already proven to treat acute heart failure, gene therapy could also improve advanced (or chronic) heart failure, according to a new study on an animal model, published in the journal Cardiovascular Research. For the first time and against all expectations, researchers show that it is possible to induce the multiplication of cardiomyocytes (cardiac cells) at an advanced stage of the pathology and to improve cardiac function, with certain beneficial effects on the liver and kidney functions.
Past the point of no return
“ The current thinking is that advanced heart failure, a stage where the heart muscleheart muscle has become too weak, is a point of no return. We know today that it is not possible to stimulate a heart in this state so that it generates new cardiac cells in order to repair itself and that only palliative treatment is available for patients. “, said Dr Tamer MA Mohamed, Associate ProfessorAssociate Professor of surgerysurgery and medicine and co-author of the study. This new approach offers a glimmer of hope against this deadly disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.
Gene therapy makes it possible to specifically deliver GenoaGenoa which promote the proliferation of heart cells, generating “new heart muscle”. After four months of treatment, the animals notably showed an improvement in the structure of their hearts (a marked reduction in the size of the scarscar), as well as their cardiac function.
