New nasal spray 'vaccine' could prevent heart attacks

By Admin
A team of scientists from a university in Switzerland have successfully developed a vaccine which is able to prevent heart attacks. Studies have reveal...

A team of scientists from a university in Switzerland have successfully developed a vaccine which is able to prevent heart attacks.

Studies have revealed that the breakthrough vaccine, which can be administered via an injection or nasal spray, stops fat from building up in the arteries, a condition known as atherosclerosis.

It is thought to be the first drug of its kind – one that aims to target the underlying cause of heart disease and heart attacks.

There are now hopes the vaccine could be made widely available within the next five years.

To read the latest edition of Healthcare Global, click here

According the Daily Telegraph newspaper, early stage animal tests found the drug was able to reduce the build up of fat in the arteries by 60 to 70 percent.

It works by encouraging the body’s immune system to produce antibodies which can fight this build up and prevent it from occurring.

As a result, less strain is placed on the heart as it is able to pump blood through arteries and around the body more easily.

Commenting on the new vaccine, the Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, Professor Peter Weissberg, said: “A vaccination approach to the treatment of atherosclerosis is based on an attempt to interfere with the cellular mechanisms that cause life threatening build up of fatty deposits.

“There will be great interest in the outcome of the on-going studies to see firstly if this approach is safe and secondly, whether it can influence the progression of vascular disease in the long term.”

He added: “It is very promising, but it will take some time before we know if it is successful and, if so, which patients are likely to benefit most from this treatment.”

Professor Jan Nilsson from Lund University explained that if the drug makes it to market, only those at a high-risk of heart attacks would benefit.

“The antibody therapy in particularly is likely to be expensive, so you could probably only afford to give it to high-risk populations rather than everyone,” he was quoted as saying in the Daily Telegraph.  

“People at high risk of heart attacks are likely to be the first candidates for immune approaches.

“Such treatments, since they’ve totally different modes of action, could be used in addition to the current therapies,” he added.

The Healthcare Global magazine is now available on the iPad. Click here to download it.

Share

Featured Articles

McKinsey: Women More Likely to die of Heart Attack Than Men

McKinsey Health Institute's Lucy Pérez says cardiovascular disease top killer of women yet physicians don't know their heart attack symptoms are different

Novo Nordisk Buys $1bn Cardior in CardioVascular Move

As Novo Nordisk expands into heart medicines, we profile the Danish pharma giant who in 1923 was the first to make insulin commercially available

Shoddy Chinese Syringes Sees BD Ramp-up Production

Becton Dickinson – a major supplier of syringes – said it has upped manufacturing in its US facilities after FDA warning on China-made products

AI Tool 'Picks up Early-stage Breast Cancers Doctors Missed'

Technology & AI

AstraZeneca Buys $2bn Fusion in Next-gen Cancer Drugs Move

Medical Devices & Pharma

Eli Lilly and Amazon Pharmacy Partner on Drugs Delivery

Digital Healthcare