Continuous Dose Of Nitroglycerin Increases Severity Of Heart Attacks
Posted Nov 02 2011 9:23pm
When given for hours as a continuous dose, the heart medication nitroglycerin backfires — increasing the severity of subsequent heart attacks, according to a study of the compound in rats by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
“Basically it’s a cautionary tale,” said professor of chemical and systems biology Daria Mochly-Rosen, PhD, senior author of the study published Nov. 2 in Science Translational Medicine. “Here is a practice in medicine used for over 100 years. Nitroglycerin is so old that a proper clinical trial has never been formally done. Our study says it’s time for cardiologists to examine the value of nitroglycerin treatment that extends for hours at a time.”
The study also showed that the damage can be reduced by simultaneous treatment with an enzyme activator known as Alda-1, discovered by Mochly-Rosen and collaborators and reported in Science in 2008.
When given for hours as a continuous dose, the heart medication nitroglycerin backfires — increasing the severity of subsequent heart attacks, according to a study of the compound in rats by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
“Basically it’s a cautionary tale,” said professor of chemical and systems biology Daria Mochly-Rosen, PhD, senior author of the study published Nov. 2 in Science Translational Medicine. “Here is a practice in medicine used for over 100 years. Nitroglycerin is so old that a proper clinical trial has never been formally done. Our study says it’s time for cardiologists to examine the value of nitroglycerin treatment that extends for hours at a time.”
The study also showed that the damage can be reduced by simultaneous treatment with an enzyme activator known as Alda-1, discovered by Mochly-Rosen and collaborators and reported in Science in 2008.