7/20/2011 PERMALINK
New gene therapy that can reverse heart failure ready for clinical trials. After years of proving itself highly effective in the lab and a large animal study, a promising gene therapy to prevent and reverse congestive heart failure is on the verge of clinical trials Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University’s Center for Translational Medicine have already demonstrated feasibility, the long-term therapeutic effectiveness and the safety of S100A1 gene therapy in a large animal model of heart failure under conditions approximating a clinical setting. 'The therapeutic profile of S100A1 is a unique one as it targets and reverses the underlying causes of heart failure: progressive deterioration of contractile performance, electrical instability and energy deprivation,' explained Patrick Most, M.D., adjunct assistant professor of medicine at TJU.