Global Health Asia-Pacific September 2020 September 2020 | Page 22
Heart News
Gene editing obliterates
blood fats
The approach could offer a permanent fix for some heart
problems
Agene-editing technique has been used to slash the levels of
triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the
blood of monkeys, suggesting that a one-off treatment for some of the
most common heart disease risk factors could be in the making.
When researchers at US-based Verve Therapeutics turned off two
genes that monkeys share with humans, PCSK9 and ANGPTL3, they
observed a 59 percent drop in the animals’ LDL cholesterol and a 64
percent reduction in triglycerides. When these compounds accumulate
in the blood, they increase the risk of several conditions, like heart attack
and stroke, by hardening and narrowing the blood vessels.
“At Verve, our goal is to develop medicines, given once in life, that
precisely edit targeted genes in the liver to permanently reduce LDL
cholesterol and triglyceride levels in adults with coronary heart disease,
the leading cause of death in the US and worldwide,” said Dr Sekar
Kathiresan, co-founder and CEO of Verve, in a press release.
The experiment was inspired by the fact that people with naturally
occurring dysfunctions in PCSK9 and ANGPTL3 have reduced amounts
of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in their blood and a lower risk of
coronary heart disease compared with individuals whose genes work
normally. “The idea is to confer, with base editing, the protection that
some rare people have naturally,” Dr Kathiresan told STAT.
The potential treatment might be particularly useful for patients with
familial hyper-cholesterolemia, an inherited condition characterised by
very high levels of cholesterol that often require regular injections of
PCSK9-targeting drugs.
“Genome editing is potentially permanent and thus a one-time
therapy, assuming it’s safe and effective,� Dr �oseph Wu, a researcher
in cardiovascular disease at Stanford University who was not involved
in the experiment, told STAT. “So the lifetime cost possibly can be lower
than [the PCSK9 drugs]. It is also more convenient because patients do
not need to go to the clinic every month or two.”
Future clinical trials will have to establish whether the gene-editing
technique is effective and safe in humans.
Vaping isn’t free of
health risks
Cardiovascular damage is one key concern but
not the only one
The use of electronic cigarettes is linked to heart
problems and “doubles the risk of starting to
smoke traditional cigarettes,” reads a statement by
the European Society of Cardiology which published
a position paper on the subject.
“Vaping is marketed towards teenagers, and the
tobacco industry uses celebrity to promote it as
being healthier than smoking,” said Dr Maja-Lisa
Løchen, a professor of preventative medicine at UiT
The Arctic University of Norway and a senior author
of the paper, in a press release.
What the industry doesn’t disclose, however, is
that vaping raises blood pressure and heart rates
while damaging blood vessels, conditions that
increase the risk of blood clots, a main cause of heart
attacks.
Some research also suggests that vaping has
detrimental effects on the lungs and foetus during
pregnancy.
Supporters of electronic cigarettes point out that
using them can help kick the more dangerous habit
of smoking tobacco, but this line of reasoning is
questioned by the authors of the paper.
“When these studies are pooled together, it does
not show that e-cigarettes are more effective than
conventional, well-tested stop smoking methods,”
said Professor Løchen. “In addition, people who
use e-cigarettes for smoking cessation often end up
being double consumers of both traditional tobacco
cigarettes and e-cigarettes.”
“E-cigarettes should only be used for smoking
cessation if nothing else has worked and the
individual is carefully monitored for adverse effects,�
she added.
Given that e-cigarettes are a young product
whose long-term health risks are unknown, the
researchers recommend raising awareness of their
adverse effects, especially among children and
adolescents.
20 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2020 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific.com