Cardiovascular disease from atherosclerosis is one
of the most common causes of death worldwide. Inflammation plays a
crucial role in atherosclerosis and cholesterol crystals are
considered to be main culprit.
Researchers have found out that cyclodextrin
dissolves cholesterol crystals and reduces atherosclerotic plaques.
This is a promising therapeutic approach for treating
atherosclerosis. Their find was published in Science
Translational Medicine.
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| Micrograph of an artery that supplies the heart with significant atherosclerosis and marked luminal narrowing. Tissue has been stained using Masson's trichrome. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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study points to cholesterol crystals as a target for treatment of
atherosclerosis, meaning that using cyclodextrin to dissolve the
crystals could affect how the disease is treated.
The original idea for the test of cyclodextrin
came from Chris Hempel, an American mother whose twin daughters are
affected by a rare illness called Niemann-Pick Type C disease, in
which cholesterol accumulates in the body. The children are being
treated with cyclodextrin with promising results.
Hempel read about previous research on cholesterol
crystals conducted by senior researcher Eicke Latz from the
University Hospital Bonn and his colleagues from the Center of
Molecular Inflammation Research (CEMIR) at the Norwegian University
of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim. She contacted Dr. Latz
to suggest that they test cyclodextrin as a possible treatment for
atherosclerosis.
It was published in Sciencedaily, can be accessed here .
