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Heart failure may be treated in the brain


Published: March 27, 2008 at 3:13 PM
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LONDON, March 27 (UPI) -- A British study suggests cardiac medicines known as beta-blockers might heal the heart via the brain when administered during heart failure.

Up to now medical scientists have believed beta-blockers -- drugs that slow heart rate, lower blood pressure, control angina and help protect against from heart attack -- worked directly on the heart. But researchers at University College London said the drugs might also act via the brain, suggesting future cardiovascular disease therapies might target the central nervous system.

The study, based on a rat model of postmyocardial infarction-induced heart failure, discovered the beta-adrenoceptor blocker metoprolol acts directly in the brain to slow the progression of heart failure.

"Our study shows the importance of the brain in regulating the cardiovascular system," said Professor Mike Spyer, co-author of the research. "This is often ignored by cardiologists who concentrate on the dynamics of cardiac contraction and the receptors on the heart that influence this, rather than how the nervous innervation of the heart is regulated."

The UCL findings appear in the journal Circulation Research.

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Grady McCoy stands in the Langley Research Center's 16 foot transonic tunnel, as light reflects off the fan blades in this image from 1990 in Hampton, Virginia. As part of a national initiative to optimize government-owned wind tunnels, NASA's Langley Research Center shut down the tunnel and transitioned work to other facilities. During its operational lifetime, the tunnel supported development of all fighters since the 1960s, such as the F-14, F-15, F-18 and the Joint Strike Fighter. (UPI Photo/NASA)
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