By Onakpojeruo Praises
Drug repurposing is one of the fastest and most effective routes to new medical treatments. Researchers reveal how such a strategy may yield a new treatment for heart failure.
Researchers suggest that the gout drug probenecid may help to treat heart failure.
In a new study, the team found that probenecid — which is a drug commonly used to treat gout — improved heart function in a small number of individuals with heart failure .
First study author Nathan Robbins — from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Ohio — and colleagues recently reported their
findings in the Journal of the American Heart Association .
Heart failure is a condition that arises when the heart is unable to pump oxygen-rich blood well enough to support other organs.
It is estimated that heart failure affects around
5.7 million adults in the United States, and around 50 percent of people who have the condition die within 5 years of being diagnosed.
Though there is no cure for heart failure, treatments exist that help to manage the condition. Some of these treatments, such as a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), concentrate on improving the heart's function.
An LVAD is a battery-powered device surgically implanted into the patient's heart. It draws in blood from the left ventricle of the heart, before transporting it to the aorta, or the artery that distributes blood to the rest of the body.
In their new study, Robbins and team reveal how probenecid may offer a noninvasive alternative to such treatments, after finding that the gout drug improved the heart-pumping action of people with heart failure.
'From bench to bedside'
The researchers tested probenecid on 20 people of an average age of 57 years, all of whom had heart failure.
As part of the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, all the participants either took probenecid or a placebo over 4-week periods between June 2013 and April 2015.
In a new study, the team found that probenecid — which is a drug commonly used to treat gout — improved heart function in a small number of individuals with heart failure .
First study author Nathan Robbins — from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Ohio — and colleagues recently reported their
findings in the Journal of the American Heart Association .
Heart failure is a condition that arises when the heart is unable to pump oxygen-rich blood well enough to support other organs.
It is estimated that heart failure affects around
5.7 million adults in the United States, and around 50 percent of people who have the condition die within 5 years of being diagnosed.
Though there is no cure for heart failure, treatments exist that help to manage the condition. Some of these treatments, such as a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), concentrate on improving the heart's function.
An LVAD is a battery-powered device surgically implanted into the patient's heart. It draws in blood from the left ventricle of the heart, before transporting it to the aorta, or the artery that distributes blood to the rest of the body.
In their new study, Robbins and team reveal how probenecid may offer a noninvasive alternative to such treatments, after finding that the gout drug improved the heart-pumping action of people with heart failure.
'From bench to bedside'
The researchers tested probenecid on 20 people of an average age of 57 years, all of whom had heart failure.
As part of the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, all the participants either took probenecid or a placebo over 4-week periods between June 2013 and April 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment