Study in Circulation provides detail on how low blood flow promotes vascular disease
Monday, June 23, 2008 - 10:21
in Health & Medicine
Better understanding of signaling pathway to lead to new therapies Researchers have found the first direct proof that a key protein drives the clogging of arteries in two ways, and that lowering levels of it opens them up, according to study results published in the June edition of the journal Circulation. The work establishes cyclophilin A as an exciting target in the design of drugs against atherosclerosis, the number one cause of heart attacks and strokes, which occur when vessels become completely blocked. While the study was in mice, higher levels of the study protein have also been found in the blood of human patients with diseased blood vessels.