The Cure for the Worlds Highest Killing Disease?

A recent scientific study has conducted by the Center for Translational Medicine in Philadelphia has come a good way forward in using a technique called gene therapy to treat heart failure. The experiment was performed upon rats and because of our hearts similarity to theirs, both genetically and physiologically, it is believed that this will be highly applicable to human medicine.

Gene therapy is a treatment through which a virus is created that will only infect certain cells within the body and will then alter the complex processes by which DNA regulates the cell. This is achieved in cardiac cells by influencing expression of genes which are only active in the heart, which makes them specific to these cells.

The therapy was applied to rats which had synthesized heart failure causing a decreased heart rate and lower blood pressure before being administered with the virus. The particular gene which this therapy activated was previously studied and was found to increase heart rate through activation but this more conclusive paper showed that over a long period of time it can allow the heart to repair tissue and improve tissue function to a level higher than before heart failure.

It is believed that through further study of gene therapy this technique can be used to help treat heart disease which is the world’s number one killer. Similar methods of gene therapy are also being researched into areas such as Retinal Pigmentosa which can cause blindness and this area of genetics looks promising for curing a number of diseases.

Written by Marc Burton (41411645)

Primary source:
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/115/19/2506

Secondary Sources:
http://www.worldheart.org/mission-myths-facts.php
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=71976