SCIENTISTS have discovered a potentially life-saving molecule which appears to boost patients' chances of recovering after a heart attack.
The team at Edinburgh University followed 732 patients who had suffered a heart attack and measured the level of eosinophils - a type of white blood cell - in their blood. They found that patients with low levels of these white blood cells are more likely to die in the six months following a heart attack, compared to those with higher concentrations of eosinophils.
However, they also found that treating these patients with a naturally occurring molecule called interleukin-4 (IL-4), which is produced by eosinophils cells, appeared to help to reduce these death rates. They believe a simple blood test could be used to identify and treat patients at risk.
The findings will be presented today at the British Cardiovascular Conference in Manchester.
The study used mice genetically-engineered to be deficient in this type of white blood cell and treated them with IL-4 after a heart attack. It found that damaging changes to the size, shape and function of the heart caused by the heart attack were reversed.
IL-4 plays a role in the body's inflammatory response and tissue repair. Researchers think that it may be crucial in helping the heart heal after a heart attack.
They now want to determine whether the same effect can be demonstrated in human trials.
Dr Iqbal Toor, an Edinburgh University PhD student who led the study, said: “Our work suggests that a simple blood test, which every patient with a heart attack already has, could be used to identify those patients who may have a deficit in their bodies healing response to a heart attack.
“We found that IL-4 immuno-therapy could be used as a novel treatment to boost the immune response in these heart attack patients in order to promote healing of the heart and so limit the damage that occurs after a heart attack.
“We will be looking to confirm these exciting findings in a clinical trial to find out whether tailoring immuno-therapy to high-risk heart attack patients can save lives.”
Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, added: “This exciting research may have uncovered one reason why some people who’ve had a heart attack go on to partially recover, whilst others don’t
“If these results are borne out by future research and larger clinical trials, IL-4 may prove to be a key new treatment for people who’ve had a heart attack.”
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