Heart disease remains the largest killer in Australia and around the world.
After a heart attack, scar tissue forms and this negatively affects heart function.
In a new study, researchers found that a protein therapy- recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-AB (rhPDGF-AB) – could improve outcomes following a heart attack.
They found that infusing rhPDGF could improve the quality of the scar after a heart attack, leads to the formation of new blood vessels in the heart, and reduced rates of dangerous heart arrhythmia (irregularities of heart rhythm that can cause sudden death).
The research was conducted by a team at the University of Sydney and elsewhere.
Following a heart attack, the heart muscle is damaged, causing thick scar tissue to form.
This can limit the heart’s ability to function efficiently and can increase the risk of heart failure, and sudden cardiac death.
Current treatments aim to restore blood and the oxygen supply to the heart as quickly as possible to reduce scarring.
While this improves health outcomes, up to a quarter of patients experiencing their first heart attack will develop heart failure within one year.
It’s clear that there is an urgent, unmet need for additional treatments to improve patient outcomes, particularly after large heart attacks.
In the study, the team found that rhPDGF-AB led to increased scar collagen fiber alignment and strength. This improved heart function after the heart attack.
By improving cardiac function and scar formation following a heart attack, the treatment with rhPDGF-AB led to an overall increase in survival rate.
The team says this project has been developed over more than 10 years and they now have compelling data in two species for the effectiveness of this treatment.
This is an entirely new approach with no current treatments able to change scar in this way.
Further studies are required to clarify safety and dosing. Then the team can start looking towards clinical trials in humans very soon.
They hope to further test the treatment, including whether it could be used in other organ systems impacted by scar tissue, such as the kidneys.
The lead author of the study is Associate Professor James Chong.
The study is published in Science Translational Medicine.
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