A New Culprit For Cardiovascular Disease
Thanks to this finding, doctors are hopeful about the possibility of stopping this disease with individualized therapies.
A new study has revealed a new culprit for cardiovascular disease. If we think about circulatory problems, cholesterol, blood pressure or triglycerides immediately appear in our mind. However, there are other cases in which accidents of this type also occur.
With this in mind, the universities of Bale and Yale decided to undertake a study on this question. We are facing the work of an international team, since several Spaniards also participate. Scientists have discovered a cellular mutation that, along with aging, allows plaques to form in the arteries. Therefore, they provoke or hinder circulatory functions. The consequences can be very bearable, but also fatal.
The Tet2 gene, the new culprit of cardiovascular diseases
In recent years, a significant number of cancer-related genetic studies have proliferated. Thus, every day it is clearer that the cellular structure is decisive for our health. And not only oncological, but it is essential for the development of pathologies.
Therefore, this group carried out an experiment focused on the behavior of the mutated Tet2 gene in rodents. This has been developed at the National Center for Cardiovascular Research. According to José Javier Fuster, the alteration in this gene activates the development of atherosclerosis.
This circumstance is due to the fact that the change generates a series of immune cells that give rise to a protein that produces inflammation. Furthermore, they reproduce much faster than healthy cells.
Until now, this process was impossible to stop. However, this team has found the formula to do it. All this with a simple drug. With this, they have achieved that the mice do not suffer this precipitation of atherosclerosis.
This consists precisely in the creation of plaques in the arteries, which make it difficult for the blood to circulate. By complicating the blood supply, the heart suffers. The same happens with the feeding of the brain, with results such as heart attacks, strokes or similar ailments. In this sense, the drug developed by Fuster’s team reduces the risk of suffering from these conditions considerably.
An experiment with a lot to come
As we said, the success of the clinical trial has been registered in mice. The person in charge of the experiment affirms that the possibility of using the drug in humans is still very far away. However, it does seem to be a matter of time. The inhibitors it contains have already been approved for future studies applicable to humans. Specifically for the ” treatment of recurrent cardiovascular disease”.
The team points out that the possibilities opened up by the present discovery go beyond the formulation of a medicine. By relying on genetic manipulation, it will be possible to create personalized treatments.
Hindering this new culprit of cardiovascular disease means improving our quality of life. This helps us to look at the passage of time with much more optimistic eyes.
In any case, what we do know is that cholesterol and blood pressure are not everything. Not even stress. The key is not only in this gene responsible for cardiovascular disease, but also in a multifactorial complex. Who knows what the genetic study will bring us.
However, everything indicates that we have taken a further step towards possible individualized treatments. These will attack directly the origin of the conditions and not their symptoms. It is, therefore, one more step in the new era of medicine.
