US EditionStudy: New UCSD Research Unlocks Paths to Treat Heart Attacks
UC San Diego researchers identified a heart-brain-immune feedback loop that worsens scarring after heart attacks; blocking this circuit improved heart recovery in mice.
- On January 27, University of California San Diego, School of Biological Sciences scientists reported in Cell a three-node heart–brain–immune circuit in mice, and disabling parts of it markedly reduced injury and scarring.
- Researchers sought to identify the missing pathways as standard treatments: bypass surgery, angioplasty and blood thinners are invasive, motivating the UC San Diego interdisciplinary team years ago.
- Using advanced imaging and genetic tools, the team mapped TRPV1 neurons wrapping the damaged ventricle and traced signals to the PVN and neck ganglion, employing tissue clearing, molecular staining, light-sheet microscopy, and echocardiography in laboratory mice.
- But experts warn translation will take time and requires detecting pathway activity, considering factors like genetics, sex, diabetes, or hypertension, while existing treatments may already touch this loop, researchers say.
- Someone in the United States has a heart attack about every 40 seconds, affecting about 805,000 people each year, and heart‑brain‑immune system maps could spur new treatments, though experts note complexity remains.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Blocking all three circuits of the heart-brain immune circuit eliminated heart attack complications in mice, researchers at the University of California, San Diego report.
NewScientist
Anti-Aging, Acupuncture and Health NewsOur brains play a surprising role in recovering from a heart attack
A newly discovered collection of neurons suggests the brain and heart communicate to trigger a neuroimmune response after a heart attack, which may pave the way for new therapies
Study: New UCSD research unlocks paths to treat heart attacks
The University of California San Diego announced on Tuesday that research led by its School of Biological Sciences is changing how heart attacks are viewed and opening a path to new treatments.The study, published in the journal Cell, examines heart attacks by linking them to other systems, a "triple node."The study explains that the triple node is the connection between the heart, the brain and the nervous and immune systems.Heart attacks are o…
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