Cardiac Conversations

Is CD 36 the holy grail?

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:40:00 GMT

Renal expression of ligand CD 36 (also called thrombospondin receptor) has been given renewed interest at a cardiovascular symposium held in Shanghai over the first weekend of March this year. The CD36 gene has a direct impact on the onset of metabolic syndrome. The phenotypic effect of the impaired renal expression of CD36 can lead to insulin resistance, hypertension and dyslipidaemia. The gene for CD 36 is located in chromosome 7 as band 11.2.

Obesity and metabolic syndrome are associated with the abnormal expression of this gene. It is interesting to see that weight loss and physical exercise causes the normalisation of the CD 36 gene expression thus improving the clinical syndrome of dyslipidaemia and insulin resistance and impaired glucose tolerance.

It is likely that the chromosome 7 and the CD 36 ligand may play a key role in cardiovascular pathology and therapeutics in the future. The racial differences related to its expression may lie at the heart of the increased propensity of some races to suffer severe and premature coronary disease, such as the American Indians, South Asians and Australian Aborigines. Focused genetic research in these ethnic groups may shed much valuable light into this phenomenon.

Vector-assisted gene therapy may even dawn an era of very effective and potent therapeutics against insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and even coronary artery disease. The new generation angiotensin II receptor anatagonists may have some effect on the activity of CD 36 via its partial agonist effect on PPAR (gamma) receptors.

I believe genetic research and gene therapy are shaping up to be the next frontier in cardiovascular medicine.

Lyse or not to lyse?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:43:00 GMT

Thromoblysis was thought to be a thing of the past for the busy metropolitan hospitals when the interventional cardiologists embraced the primary angioplasty as the therapy of choice for those presenting with acute ST elevation myocardial infractions.

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Climate change may be good for your heart: controversial. But it could be true?

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:34:00 GMT

There is a significant amount of buzz about climate change in the media lately. The leaders at the G8 summit were hotly debating the means of reducing green house gas emissions with medium term targets that served nothing but lip service from most quarters. There is only guarded optimism on any breakthrough at the Copenhagen summit on climate change planned for the end of the year.

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All about macho baldies, Atkins diet, Rosi and the heart!

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:37:00 GMT

There have been some very interesting developments in the world of cardiology over the last few weeks. Adding a new spin to the debate over the cardiovascular safety of the potent diabetic medication Rosiglitazone (Rosi), the RECORD trial data were released. The new data testify to the safety of Rosiglitazone disputing the controversial meta-analysis that incriminated the agent in 2007. According to RECORD data adverse cardiac events rate with Rosi is no different to that of metformin or suphonylureas.

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Strict blood sugar control in diabetes: evidence not so sweet?

Thu, 21 May 2009 00:23:00 GMT

Diabetes mellitus remains a major health problem with a prevalence of 8-16% among the population aged between 55-85 years. There is convincing evidence to prove the benefits of good glycaemia control to prevent end organ damage related to microvascular complications...

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Research funding - can the industry compromise integrity?

Mon, 04 May 2009 02:45:00 GMT

The recent news headlines related to the unrestricted academic grant made by the pharmaceutical company Sanofi Aventis to Baker IDI research institute in Melbourne has given rise to some controversy and contention.

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Yes, you can have that chocolate!

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:25:00 GMT

Well, there is emerging sweet news about chocolate that would justify the guilty indulgence of us chocoholics and give the poetic connection between the heart and chocolates a more scientific outlook...

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SYNTAX

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:06:00 GMT

The landmark SYNTAX trial results were released late last year and published recently. The issue of CABG Vs Stenting for patients with left main stem stenosis or triple vessel disease has been debated for a long time and different trials have shed different light into this. SYNTAX is a some what large RCT that looked into this issue from a drug eluting stent era perspective.

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Treating the Troponin

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:23:00 GMT

Admitting patients with isolated troponin elevation under the care of a cardiology team has been an issue widely debated amongst cardiologists, medical registrars and emergency department doctors...

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Long term follow up of cardiac resynchronization therapy – results of a Danish case control study

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:25:00 GMT

Cardiac resynchronisation therapy can improve symptoms of heart failure. In addition there is improvement in ejection fraction as well as survival in patients with a wide QRS complex on ECG...

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