Gene Therapy: Healing the Heart with a Virus

There is a new hope for those suffering with heart conditions. A newly engineered virus is on the trial stage. Research is being done wherein it would be genetically introduced to the heart of a patient in the hope of healing their deteriorating heart.

Gene therapy

The United Kingdom is one of the countries where a lot of people suffer from heart conditions. The British Heart Foundation said that the idea of engineering a virus to heal the heart has great potential but before this becomes mainstream medical treatment, it would certainly need to undergo a number of clinical trials.

Studies showed that patients suffering from heart failures exhibit low concentration of the protein SECRA2a. The researchers working on the study at the Imperial College London, after figuring out this fact engineered a genetically modified virus designed to produce high levels of this protein. Genetic engineering has made it possible for the effects to be directed to the heart.

For a better quality of life

According to Prof. Sian Harding, a legitimate figure in the Imperial College London, the virus will only bring back the former status of the patient’s heart after any damage had occurred. Prof. Harding also added that this trial, if proven to be successful will absolutely improve the quality of life of many people.

British Heart Foundation’s medical director, Prof. Peter Weissberg contested that even though drugs offer some form of aid to a patient, they do not have the capability to restore the functions of a patient’s heart after suffering from heart failure.

Women are more prone to heart disease

The common belief that most men suffer from heart disease in the UK is rather obsolete. The British Heart Foundation conducted a research showing that more British women suffer from heart condition, more than males in the UK.
To put this fact into numbers, 710,000 women who are aged 16 to 44 suffer from heart conditions while only 570,000 men do so. There is a vast difference between the figures which women in the UK should consider into account.

Public education with heart disease is as important as research

Mark Kearney is a cardiologist in the UK that leads the battle in fighting heart conditions. According to Kearney there is no joy in seeing patients and people suffer from all existing forms of heart disease. He also stated that this kind of disease takes both the young and the old and even those who are physically fit.

Kearney also stated that people nowadays only eat fast foods. This preference typically results in obesity which is a number one risk factor for developing heart problems. He also pointed out that people do less exercise these days therefore putting their health at risk.
The British Heart Foundation stated that a person suffers from heart attack every seven minutes in the UK. They also solidly declared that almost 200,000 people die every year due to heart conditions. The fact only states that heart disease is the number one killer in Britain.