Innovative research opens the door for the prevention of cardiac fibrosis

Innovative research opens the door for the prevention of cardiac fibrosis -

Canadian discovery may soon lead to the prevention of cardiac fibrosis

innovative research University of Alberta and McGill University has opened the door to the future prevention of cardiac fibrosis a condition leading to heart failure for which there is currently no cure.

collaborative study, funded by the Health Research Institutes of Canada and published in PLOS molecular mechanisms were examined that lead to cardiac fibrosis in a preclinical model. The study revealed the specific triggers activating the development of fibrosis accelerates heart failure. Blocking triggers by using a specific type of bile acid prevented cardiac fibrosis occur.

"This is something that nobody has ever seen before," said Marek Michalak, co-principal investigator and distinguished university professor in the Department of Biochemistry of the University of the Faculty of Medicine and Alberta dentistry. "cardiac fibrosis is considered a permanent remodeling of the heart. Inevitably this leads to heart failure and ultimately death. the main thing is that it shows for the first time that cardiac fibrosis is preventable . "

"It gives hope to those living with heart failure," adds Luis Agellon, co-principal investigator and professor at the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition at McGill University. " prevention of fibrosis extend the ability of the heart to continue functioning, although at a reduced capacity. Currently patients with heart failure have a poor quality of life and prognosis. improving their quality of life will do wonders for them. "

fibrosis is a first step on the road to heart failure. According Stroke Foundation, there are currently 1.3 million Canadians living with heart disease or heart failure, a condition that severely limit physical activity because the heart can not pump enough oxygenated blood to the body requires. Once a person is diagnosed with heart failure, about 30 percent will die within the first year.

cardiac fibrosis itself is caused by a variety of factors, including high blood pressure, overwork the heart muscle, and the long-term consumption of a diet that is high in both fat saturated and sugar any cause increased stress on the heart cells. People with diabetes, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, and heart transplant are also known to be at high risk.

"It is almost like building a scar," Michalak said. "It is exactly the same type of biological activity, but it is happening in the tissue in the heart. It destroys the heart's ability to function normally."

The team is pushing forward with additional studies to see if the same therapeutic effect can be achieved in humans. They also aim to better understand exactly how bile acids may prevent cardiac fibrosis occur.

"We have not yet a full understanding-no-how bile acid does what he does in heart cells," said Michalak. "So another phase of work is to know what is really going on in heart cells at the molecular level. How this bile acid can affect the heart dramatically?"

Once this happens, the team hopes to work with cardiologists to quickly move research into clinical trials of chemotherapy and heart transplant patients.

"If cardiac fibrosis can be stopped, then it could significantly improve outcomes for those at risk," said Agellon. "It would be a significant advance in the fight against heart disease."