A Hamster May Save Your Heart

Heart disease is the number on cause of death for American adults. In the past, once the heart began to fail, a doctor could only slow the progression but not reverse the damage.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine have found a way of using gene therapy to correct heart failure. Alas, those who presently have been helped are not people but hamsters.

Trying to understand and modify genes responsible for disease is not new. The present study is based on work that was started in 1997. A virus with a modified gene is injected in to the diseased hamster's heart via a tube, a catheter. According to Healthscout News, once the virus enters the affected cells, it halted the cardiac disease for up to 7 months.

Researchers have found a way of using gene therapy to correct heart failure.

Testing is presently underway with larger animals and it is hoped that within 18 months, that human trials can begin.

Gene therapy is being used for other diseases. The same type of gene used in the hamster study, Adeno-associated virus has been successfully used to treat hemophiliac patients.

Until gene therapy has been perfected for heart maladies, take good care of yourself and your pet. Take your pet to your veterinarian for routine medical examinations. Why? Because it is "Your Pet...Health Matters."