Heart Disease - Top 10 Advances of the Millenium (well,
so far)
3) Gene therapy for heart disease
Gene therapy so far has delivered much more promise than punch. However, a few advances in cardiac gene therapy were described in Y2K suggesting that such therapy may not be as far away as many of us cynics feared.
- Researchers at Johns Hopkins successfully transferred a gene for the “G protein” to cells of the AV node in pigs with atrial fibrillation, resulting in a therapeutic slowing of the heart rate.
- In Germany, researchers transferred a gene to the heart muscle of rats and rabbits that increased the heart’s ability to contract forcefully.
- The successful mapping of the human genome, completed far ahead of schedule in 2000, will eventually have far-reaching impact in the prevention and treatment of heart disease.
The gene transfers in the two animal studies mentioned above were accomplished by infecting the target cells with a virus carrying the desired DNA (a process referred to as transfection.) Much work needs to be done before such techniques are applied to human hearts. But several essential concepts of genetic therapy, by virtue of these successful experiments, have now been validated. If the field continues to advance apace over the next few years, we may be able to apply genetic therapy to such problems as cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, and certain cardiac arrhythmias.
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