New University of Alberta research is paving the way for the first medical treatment to help protect people from cardiovascular disease by boosting the body’s natural defences.
New University of Alberta research is paving the way for the first medical treatment to help protect people from cardiovascular disease by boosting the body’s natural defences.
In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U of A cardiologist Gavin Oudit and his research team found a link between a peptide called apelin and a reduction of abdominal aortic aneurysms that was shown to dramatically reduce mortality in mice.
Oudit’s team is hoping to replicate those results in patients suffering from, or at risk for, cardiovascular disease, particularly abdominal aortic aneurysms—and has established a biotech startup to commercialize their discovery.
In a series of tests using mice with aortic aneurysms and aneurysm specimens from humans, the team—which also includes U of A scientists John Vederas and Zamaneh Kassiri—found a significant health improvement for mice treated with apelin versus those who were not: none of the mice that were treated died, whereas 50 per cent of the untreated mice did.
Read more at: University of Alberta
Cardiologist Gavin Oudit (right) and research assistant Wang Wang in the lab. Oudit's team is developing a new treatment that could eventually help protect people from cardiovascular disease, particularly abdominal aortic aneurysms. (Photo Credit: Jordan Carson)
