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Protection of the heart at a distance

Date:
January 13, 2012
Source:
Universität Duisburg-Essen
Summary:
Novel avenues to treat a heart attack have been developed: in patients, who have a blood pressure cuff several times briefly inflated before they undergo coronary artery surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, the heart is protected from damage.
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Novel avenues to treat a heart attack have been developed: in patients, who have a blood pressure cuff several times briefly inflated before they undergo coronary artery surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, the heart is protected from damage.

This is the result of a clinical study recently reported by a group of scientists from the University Duisburg-Essen (UDE) in Circulation Research, the official journal of the American Heart Association.

A team of researchers from the Institute of Pathophysiology, the Clinic of Cardiothoracic Surgery and the Clinic of Anesthesiology, which was led by Professor Gerd Heusch, found such protection of the heart at a distance. They first identified STAT5 as a protective molecular signal in the human heart. STAT signals improve the function of mitochondria, i.e. the cellular powerplants, and reduce the size of a myocardial infarction in the experiment.

In a myocardial infarction, parts of the cardiac muscle receive no blood supply because the coronary vessels are occluded. Cardiovascular disease is the most frequent cause of death in Germany, and 70.000 people annually die from myocardial infarction in Germany. The basic and translational research of Prof. Heusch on protection of the heart from infarction is supported by the German Research Foundation.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Universität Duisburg-Essen. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Gerd Heusch, Judith Musiolik, Eva Kottenberg, Jürgen Peters, Heinz Jakob, Matthias Thielmann. STAT5 Activation and Cardioprotection by Remote Ischemic Preconditioning in Humans. Circulation Research, November 23, 2011 DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.111.259556

Cite This Page:

Universität Duisburg-Essen. "Protection of the heart at a distance." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 January 2012. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120113210355.htm>.
Universität Duisburg-Essen. (2012, January 13). Protection of the heart at a distance. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 24, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120113210355.htm
Universität Duisburg-Essen. "Protection of the heart at a distance." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120113210355.htm (accessed December 24, 2024).

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