Irregular Heart Beat: Rare Disease Provides Clues About Enzyme Role In Arrhythmias
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 - 23:28
in Health & Medicine
A new study provides insight into calmodulin kinase II, a calcium-sensing enzyme already known to play a role in irregular heartbeats and other critical functions. The researchers showed that CaM kinase II contributes to arrhythmia in an extremely rare disease called Timothy syndrome and that inhibiting the enzyme prevents irregular heartbeats. The findings, which involved a new cellular model, could help with developing treatments for irregular heartbeat.