Antidepressant Can Reverse Heart Failure
Antidepressant Can Reverse Heart Failure, according to researchers at Temple University School of Medicine (TUSM) in Philadelphia.
Heart failure occurs when the heart is too weak or stiff to pump enough blood throughout the body. According to the American Heart Association, 5.1 million people live with heart failure, and need to take drugs for life.
In a study based on 20 years of research on the enzyme GRK2, researchers noted that levels of GRK2 rise when the heart is failing, and when the enzyme level was decreased, heart failure reversed. They linked this to data proving that the common antidepressant paroxetine (Paxil), has a side effect that allows it to inhibit GRK2 in mice. The found that the disease was reversed at levels of paroxetine found in the blood of patients treated for depression.
In the study, the mice were treated with paroxetine for 4 weeks and taken off the drug for two weeks, without a relapse in their condition. Researchers hope that with this drug, they can reset the heart system and restore it’s basic function.
Paroxetine was successful at turning off the GRK2 enzyme and since the drug is safe for humans, lead researcher Dr. Walter Koch, hope to begin clinical trials of a gene therapy approach to lowering GRK2 levels. Dr. John Tesmer at the University of Michigan is collaborating in the study, and is working to create a derivative of paroxetine that is effective in lower doses without the antidepressant effect.
Category: News
