London, June 19 (ANI): Scientists in Scotland have pioneered a medical breakthrough which offers a new way of treating heart failure by developing new drugs or using existing ones.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow and the University of Turin focused on how enzymes in the body play a role in heart failure and the effect it has on the body.
They identified one enzyme - PI-3 kinase, which had a vital effect on heart failure. The researchers believe by using drugs to control the activity of the enzyme, heart disease symptoms could be reversed, reports Scotsman.
Receptors are found on the surface of cells and when adrenaline binds with these receptors on heart cells it is able to send a signal telling the heart how fast to beat.
But in people with heart failure, the heart is unable to contract properly due to a reduction in the number of receptors on the heart cells caused by too much PI-3 kinase circulating in the body.
The researchers found that by reducing the activity of the PI-3 kinase in mice, the adrenaline receptors remained at a normal level and allowed the heart to function properly.
The researchers believe such a treatment could be available to patients in as little as five years.
The study has been published in the journal Molecular Cell. (ANI)
