Heart disease remains the top cause of death around the world. One of the biggest reasons for this is a condition called atherosclerosis.
This happens when fatty substances build up inside the arteries, forming plaques. These plaques can narrow the arteries, block blood flow, or even burst, leading to heart attacks or strokes.
A main cause of atherosclerosis is having too many harmful fats in the blood, especially bad cholesterol. This condition is called dyslipidemia, and it affects nearly half of all adults.
Doctors usually treat it with medications that lower cholesterol and other blood fats. These drugs are helpful and can slow down plaque buildup, but they don’t remove the plaques completely.
Now, two new studies suggest that a surprising mineral—manganese—could do more than just lower fats in the blood. It might actually help remove existing plaques in the arteries.
Manganese is a mineral that our bodies need in very small amounts. It usually helps certain enzymes function properly. But scientists recently found that manganese might also help the body clear out harmful fats from the bloodstream and even get rid of artery-clogging plaques.
In the studies, researchers gave mice extra manganese in their food. The result was a big drop in the amount of fat in their blood, along with a noticeable clearing of plaque in their arteries. These early results suggest manganese could be a powerful new tool in treating heart disease.
To understand how it works, it helps to know how fats move through the body. Fats like cholesterol and triglycerides are too large to float around on their own, so the body wraps them in bundles called lipoproteins. These bundles act like transport vehicles, carrying fats through the bloodstream.
The making of these fat bundles depends on a process inside cells involving a structure called the COPII complex. This complex acts like a packaging system, helping the cell load fats into lipoproteins and send them into the blood.
Manganese seems to directly affect this process. It binds to the COPII complex and changes how it works. When manganese levels go up, the COPII complex becomes more active—but only to a point. The effect follows a bell-shaped curve, meaning there’s a “just right” amount of manganese that works best to lower fat levels.
By changing how fats are packaged and sent out of cells, manganese reduces the amount of fat that ends up in the blood. This can help prevent plaque from forming and might even help remove plaques that are already there.
Dr. Xiao Wang, one of the lead scientists on the project, said the team was thrilled with the results. They believe manganese could someday be used to prevent or reverse heart disease. But they also warned that more research is needed. Scientists will need to figure out safe and effective ways to use manganese in people.
These early results are exciting because they offer a fresh way to treat heart disease. Most current treatments aim to lower risk by managing blood pressure, cholesterol, or blood sugar. But the manganese-based approach goes a step further. It could possibly reverse some of the damage by clearing out plaque.
Still, this research was done in mice, not humans. That means more testing is needed. What works in animals doesn’t always work the same way in people. Also, while small amounts of manganese are healthy, too much can be dangerous, especially for the brain.
The next step is to test this approach in human cells and, eventually, in people. Scientists need to find the right doses and make sure it’s safe.
If future research confirms these results, manganese could be used in new treatments that not only lower blood fats but also heal damaged arteries. That could lead to fewer heart attacks and strokes—and save many lives.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about This diabetes drug may increase heart failure risk and Common diabetes drug can also prevent heart and kidney diseases.
For more about heart health, please read studies about Aspirin and heart failure: what you should know and This diabetes drug could protect heart and kidney health.
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