Amyloid and heart
Scientists have found out how a simple blood test will help reduce the number of deaths from heart disease
Polina Gershberg, Naked Science
Researchers from Newcastle University in the UK have found out how to use a simple laboratory analysis to determine the degree of vascular aging and the risk of developing heart disease. An article about this was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (Stakos et al., The Alzheimer's Disease Amyloid-Beta Hypothesis in Cardiovascular Aging and Disease: JACC Focus Seminar).
According to a group of scientists led by Professor Konstantinos Stellos, the key indicator of the risk of diseases of the cardiovascular system may be the level of beta-amyloids in the blood - a group of peptide molecules. All beta-amyloids are formed from a single precursor molecule, a transmembrane protein. The role of these peptides in the normal functioning of peptides has not yet been clarified: it is believed that they can participate in protecting the body from fungi and bacteria.
The pathological role of beta-amyloids has been studied much better. One of them, Aß42, forms so-called amyloid plaques in the brain and serves as one of the main factors in the development of Alzheimer's disease. Also, many studies show the role of beta-amyloids in the thickening of arteries and the development of heart failure.
Anatomical and physiological effects of beta-amyloids on the cardiovascular system and brain (from the article by Stakos et al.).
Professor Stellos and his colleagues studied the data of analyses of more than 6,600 people from numerous cohort studies in nine countries. It turned out that patients can be divided into categories of high and low risk of heart disease based on the level of beta-amyloids in their blood. "This is the first time we have presented evidence of the involvement of beta-amyloid in the early and late stages of cardiovascular disease," says Stellos. – We were able to reproduce these unexpected, clinically significant results in patients from all over the world. In all cases <...> beta-amyloid is a biomarker of aging of the cardiovascular system and the likelihood of cardiovascular diseases."
Cardiac diseases claim the lives of almost millions of people every year and are recognized as the main factor of mortality in the world. Using an additional parameter to assess the risk of cardiovascular pathologies will help to better predict possible exacerbations or relapses and prevent death.
Further research by scientists from Newcastle University will focus on choosing the most effective ways to reduce the concentration of beta-amyloids in the blood and prove the clinical applicability of beta-amyloid analysis to predict the risk of heart attacks.
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