Is Heart Failure a Thing of The Past?

Failure? What's that?

In the modern day some strokes and heart attacks are able to be treated with no lasting symptoms if treated withing 2-3 hours of the event, but there are still those events where treatment simply isn't enough to get people back on their feet. Whether you are put on a beta blocker, an Ace Inhibitor, or diuretics, the heart doesn't fully recover in some cases. This is where newly discovered gene therapy comes in. Researchers had previously found a gene that produces a protein called cardiac bridging integrator 1 (cBIN1) that is integral in allowing the heart to perform at full functionality. Hearts that are low on cBIN1 are found to have trouble contracting, and have a severe risk of heart problems. Recently tested on pigs was this protein embedded in a virus, being shot into the blood vessels of pigs with heart failure. These pigs, prior to the treatment, were expected to die withing the 6 month window of the period. In fact they were slated to die much sooner, within 2-3 months. All of the 4 pigs survived the research window and were found to have a 30% improvement in heart function. A far shout from the results of current treatments, which range from 5-10%. FDA approval is being applied for to obtain permission to test on humans, but it isn't expected to go through until 2025 at the earliest. 

I am excited for this to develop into later stages. As somebody who has a genetic heart condition, seeing that heart failure and it's aftereffects may become a thing of the past is greatly comforting. I can't wait to see where this research goes, and I will be personally following this subject. Once this protein is successfully implanted in humans, I'm hoping we can find an enzyme that helps control the gene expression and protein production, so we could possibly make a pill for people who are found to have cBIN1 deficiencies. 

Links

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41536-024-00380-0

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/heart-failure/treatment/