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A new type of peptide has been found to reduce cardiac damage caused by a well-established treatment for heart attacks.
Reperfusion injury occurs when blood supply returns to the tissue after a period of ischaemia (restriction of the blood supply). Figures from the FX06 in ischaemia and reperfusion (FIRE) trial, presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress, shows that the peptide FX06 reduces damage to the tissue around the heart.
Professor Dan Atar, from the University of Oslo, Norway, said: “Re-establishment of blood flow, either by catheter-based balloon-intervention (PCI) or by thrombolysis, is necessary and life-saving in the treatment of acute myocardial infarctions.
“However, such interventions can lead to further damage to the heart muscle due to blood vessel dysfunction and inflammation.
“Based on the FIRE results, FX06 has been shown to reduce damage to the heart muscle by inhibiting inflammation and protecting vascular function. We predict that FX06 may become a novel treatment for patients undergoing PCI, representing a major advance in acute cardiac care.”
FX06 is a peptide that binds to VE-cadherin – a target on the surfaces of endothelial cells, which form the inner cell layer of blood vessels. The treatment helps to preserve blood vessel function, leading to reduced inflammation, reduced oedema and reduced infarct sizes.
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