British scientists have found a naturally occurring protein can protect against heart cell damage after a heart attack.

Scientists at the Bristol Heart Institute found that nerve growth factor (NGF), which was thought to act only on nerve cells in the body, acts on heart muscle cells too.

In research published in the Cell Death and Differentiation journal on Sunday, the scientists tested NGF in rats and got promising results. They found that injecting the gene for NGF into the hearts of rats having a heart attack stopped heart cells dying off.

Lead researcher Costanza Emanueli said, "This is the first time that a pro-survival effect of NGF in the heart has been found. Some other growth factors are already used clinically to treat  different diseases, and our study shows that NGF may be a novel way of protecting the heart from  further damage following a heart attack."

Heart attacks occur when one of the coronary arteries carrying oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle is blocked and can cause significant tissue damage. If the blood supply is cut off, a part of the heart muscle dies. This can lead to complications such as heart failure.

Drugs are already available to help prevent and minimise the damage caused by a heart attack. These include aspirin, which works by thinning the blood to improve blood flow, and clot-busting drugs called thrombolytics that dissolve clots in the artery.

(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2007)