Treatment for Damaged Heart Muscle

A new peptide has been found to reduce inflammatory responses of the heart muscle that can arise after treatment for a heart attack.

Reperfusion injuries can be caused by acute treatment for a heart attack. During the attack, part of the heart muscle is cut off from the blood circulation, and treatment aims to restore the blood flow to this area as fast as possible. Although this can be done quickly via an invasive surgical procedure, oxygen radicals form that can provoke an inflammatory response in the heart muscle, which could cause irreversible damage.

The FX06 peptide was developed and patented by Fibrex Medical (Vienna, Austria). The peptide was derived from fibrin. A trial of the peptide is scheduled to begin this year at Vienna General Hospital. The first step will be to assess the tolerability and pharmacokinetics of the peptide in the human body. Approval for the trial was quickly given, noted the company, because of the data demonstrating the efficacy of FX06 in animal models.

In the summer of 2006, the efficacy of FX06 in humans will be tested in the next stage of the clinical phase. Finding an effective drug for the mitigation of reperfusion injuries is widely viewed as one of the next big developments in cardiovascular medicine, according to biotech experts. More than 7.5 million revascularization procedures are performed annually in Europe, Japan, and the United States. Currently, 10% of the cost of a bypass operation goes for treating complications such as reperfusion injuries.




Related Links:
Fibrex Medical