Our bodies are like complex factories, and our kidneys are the hardworking filters that clean out the waste. Just like any machine, they can start to wear out.
When this happens, a condition called chronic kidney disease (CKD) can develop, meaning our kidneys aren’t cleaning our blood as well as they should. This can lead to waste building up in our bodies, making us feel sick.
People can get CKD for many reasons, such as having high blood pressure, diabetes, or from the long-term use of certain medications.
When someone has CKD, they might feel tired, weak, and have swelling in their legs and ankles because their body is holding onto more fluid than it should.
But there’s more to CKD than just kidney problems. It can also make heart disease more likely. Heart disease develops when the blood vessels that supply the heart become hard and narrow, making it harder for blood to flow.
Scientists think a tiny particle called an extracellular vesicle (sEV) plays a big role in this process.
Imagine sEVs as tiny messengers that cells send out to talk to each other. In CKD, these messengers start delivering the wrong messages, which can lead to heart disease.
They can make the muscle cells in the walls of our blood vessels unhealthy, which makes it easier for heart disease to develop.
The research team, led by Takaaki Koide, took a deep dive into these messengers from people with CKD. They noticed that these messengers weren’t sending enough of the good signals that help prevent heart disease.
Instead, they were overloaded with a signal called VEGFA, known for causing heart disease. It seems like the sEVs in CKD patients are accidentally promoting heart disease by sending too much VEGFA.
The scientists wanted to see if they could stop this from happening. They tried blocking VEGFA in animals with CKD and found that it actually helped reduce heart disease.
This exciting discovery suggests that stopping VEGFA could be a new way to treat heart disease in people with CKD.
But there’s another twist. The scientists also discovered that the sEVs were not sending enough of certain protective signals, known as microRNAs. These signals are crucial because they can guard against heart disease.
The team believes that not getting enough of these protective messages could be another reason why CKD is linked to heart disease.
Moreover, measuring the levels of these microRNAs in sEVs might help doctors predict who is at risk of developing heart disease. This means they could identify and treat these people earlier, possibly preventing the heart disease from getting worse.
To sum it up, this research sheds light on how CKD could lead to heart disease by messing with the messages our cells send each other. It also opens the door to new treatments, like blocking harmful signals and boosting protective ones.
Keeping an eye on these tiny messengers could help us better understand and fight the silent threat of heart disease in people with CKD.
Remember, keeping our kidneys and heart healthy is crucial. Studies suggest lifestyle choices like monitoring diabetes, drinking coffee in moderation, eating eggs, and including nuts in your diet could help.
Taking care of our kidneys not only keeps them filtering waste properly but also protects our heart.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies that herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm, and how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies that apple juice could benefit your heart health, and results showing yogurt may help lower the death risks in heart disease.
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