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)