“A heart attack is still the leading cause of death worldwide, often with traumatic events,” said Zhong Wang, Ph.D., associate professor of cardiac surgery at the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center, senior author of the study.
The medium-chain fatty acid found in energy drinks may help one day prevent heart damage, suggest a recent study by University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center researchers.
He added, “Better options are needed to reduce heart damage after a heart attack, and even to improve heart function. In this book, we have directed the interaction between energy metabolism and epigenetics mediated by medium-chain fatty acid 8C.”
Wang and colleagues were able to protect against heart damage in rat models with octanoic acid, eight carbon (8C) in medium-chain fatty acid, and a few other metabolites. Those fatty acids produce acetyl-CoA, a metal that builds energy metabolism, which the depressed heart needs most.
The idea is that the doctor will give this treatment to the person when he or she arrives at the hospital after a heart attack, in order to reduce further injuries and improve heart function during recovery, he says.
“Understanding the crosstalk between metabolic energy and epigenetics may not only provide effective targeted myocardial infarction, but also have broader implications for other injuries caused by ischemic injury than cardiovascular disease,” said Ienglam Lei, Ph.D. , of Frankel CVC Department of Cardiac Surgery and University of Macau in China, who conducted significant research.
Wang says the next step will be to test the cell for larger animal models, followed by clinical tests. The research team has studied epigenetic control of heart attack for more than 10 years.
“A heart attack is still the leading cause of death worldwide, often with traumatic events,” said Zhong Wang, Ph.D., associate professor of cardiac surgery at the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center, senior author of the study.