More than 200 people with heart failure are to receive a pioneering form of gene therapy to try to get their hearts beating properly again. \"This is the first ever gene therapy trial to target heart failure,\" says lead investigator Alexander Lyon of Imperial College London. <\/p>\n
Heart failure results after damage to the heart muscle causes it to deteriorate, which in turn progressively weakens cells that govern heartbeat. The result is serious fatigue due to the heart's inability to pump blood efficiently. Each year in the UK alone it affects 120,000 people who have never had the condition before, killing a third of them within 12 months. <\/p>\n
Doctors will inject participants with harmless viruses that ferry a gene called SERCA2a into their heart muscle. The gene codes for a protein that recycles calcium within heart muscle cells, vital for driving each heartbeat and priming the next one. <\/p>\n
In damaged cells, this recycling is impaired. By loading new copies of the gene the aim is to compensate for this decline. \"The gene therapy will reset the calcium control,\" says Lyon. <\/p>\n
A preliminary trial of the same therapy three years ago in 39 people demonstrated that it is safe and delivers benefits. Those who got the highest dose of the virus, for example, spent only a tenth as long in hospital as those given a placebo (Circulation, doi.org\/bzvxst). The impending follow-up trial will recruit 200 people split equally between the US and Europe. <\/p>\n
In a separate trial of the same therapy, doctors will treat 24 people who already have temporary mechanical implants to aid heartbeat while they await heart transplants. <\/p>\n
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to. <\/p>\n
Only subscribers may leave comments on this article. Please log in. <\/p>\n
Only personal subscribers may leave comments on this article <\/p>\n
Subscribe now to comment. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
See the original post: <\/p>\n
Gene therapy to repair failing hearts starts trial<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" More than 200 people with heart failure are to receive a pioneering form of gene therapy to try to get their hearts beating properly again. \"This is the first ever gene therapy trial to target heart failure,\" says lead investigator Alexander Lyon of Imperial College London. Continue reading