Gene therapy of heart failure: clinical studies have begun

A new method of treating heart failure

Pharmacy Online www.apteka.ua based on the materials of Imperial College London: New gene therapy could treat devastating heart failureSpecialists of Imperial College London have announced the start of clinical trials of a new method of treating heart failure – a condition in which the heart does not provide perfusion of organs and tissues with the necessary amount of blood.

Today in the UK, this pathology has been diagnosed in 750 thousand people.

Researchers at Imperial College London noted that patients with heart failure have significantly reduced levels of the SERCA2a protein. Therefore, experts have developed a genetically modified virus that introduces genetic material into the heart muscle and promotes an increase in the production of SERCA2a protein, which, in turn, helps prevent destructive processes developing due to heart failure.

The first clinical trial, CUPID2, which aims to assess the safety profile of the new treatment method, will begin in the near future at the Royal Brompton Hospital. 200 patients with heart failure will take part in it. The second study, SERCA–LVAD, scheduled for summer 2013, will involve 24 patients with this pathology. Researchers will measure the level of SERCA2a and evaluate the effectiveness of therapy using the LVAD (left ventricular assist device), which supports the function of the left ventricle.

As noted by Sian Harding, professor at Imperial College London, it took 20 years for specialists to start researching a new method of treating heart failure with patients. According to Peter Weissberg, director of the British Heart Foundation, gene therapy is not aimed at eliminating symptoms and temporarily relieving the condition of a patient with heart failure, but directly at treating the disease itself.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru07.05.2013