Written by: Press Trust of India
2 min readLondonApr 2, 2012 01:07 AM IST
First published on: Apr 2, 2012 at 01:07 AM IST
Scientists,including an Indian-origin researcher,claim a vaccine against heart attack is being developed,which could be available within five years.
Coronary heart disease occurs when fatty plaques build up in the blood vessels feeding the heart and over time become narrowed. Parts of the plaque may break off causing a clot to form which can block the artery causing a heart attack.
Now,a team,led by Prof Prediman Shah from Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in US and Prof Nilsson from Lund University in Sweden,says experiments have shown it is possible to alter the way the immune system reacts to plaques in the arteries to reduce inflammation and the severity of the build-up.
In fact,the scientists say that injections of antibodies could help prevent the build up of fat in arteries which cause narrowings and break-off leading to heart attacks,The Daily Telegraph reported.
The team has already formulated a vaccine that reduced plaque build up by 60 to 70 per cent in mice. The resulting CVX-210 vaccine,currently in development as an injection by CardioVax,is waiting regulatory clearance to start clinical trials,say scientists. A second vaccine using the same materials has been formulated as a nasal spray,Prof Nilsson said.
Share
