Anti-inflammatory treatment for hardening of the arteries

Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) is a extremely widespread complaint image that is associated with numerous secondary diseases of the circulatory system to the heart attack. Effective treatment methods are needed, therefore, and this could be according to estimates of experts, the so-called anti-inflammatory therapies.

At this year’s 85. Annual meeting of the German society of cardiology – Heart and circulatory research (DGK), a discussion of the latest approaches in atherosclerosis research and potential treatment strategies will be presented. “My firm Conviction is, that are yet to be developed anti-inflammatory, so anti-inflammatory therapy strategies have the Potential to change the treatment of atherosclerosis and positive,” said conference President Professor Dr. Stephan Baldus at the press conference for the opening of the annual meeting.

Current treatment options are inadequate

So far, the treatment of chronic vascular inflammation represents one of the great challenges of cardiology and the atherosclerosis leave neither with cholesterol-lowering therapies sink in your prevent, yet it could be with Bypass surgery or the Implantation of coronary Stents is stopped, the communication from the DGK. New approaches to research, and especially translational efforts are urgently necessary, “in order to develop new pharmacological therapeutic methods for this disease.”

The first successes of pharmacological therapies

For the first time have shown in front of one and a half years, the large-scale so-called CANTOS study, a pharmacological therapy of chronic vascular inflammation is possible. In the study the effectiveness of Interleukin-1ß (an inflammatory mediator) directed antibody, has been studied and it has been shown that the Inflammation occupies as a therapeutic target is an important place, according to the DGK.

Research on the right way?

“In this study published in the effects, however, are unfortunately still limited, and the euphoria regarding the detectability of this mechanism is not implemented unfortunately, so far, in an even more effective therapy,” Professor Baldus. Also, new investigations would not have been convinced to something non-specific-acting anti-inflammatory strategies for the last. Admittedly it could be with a single agent of the complex disease picture neither prevent nor reversed, but the research was on the right track by targeting specific signaling cascades of the cells to be attacked.

Intensive efforts in research

“The fact that so large-scale studies on anti-inflammatory mediators are taken, shows on the one side the strong will to develop in this direction new forms of therapy, and also shows that we need, unfortunately, still a lot of research to be able to for the patient something Concrete to offer”, says the Congress President. He very much hope that the efforts to beat promptly in an improvement in the treatment options.

A single drug will probably not be sufficient

Over 8,500 heart specialists, in the framework of the 85. DGK annual meeting is expected and a common engagement with the topic of cardiovascular Inflammation is of great importance, not least because “the isolated treatment of vascular disease through cholesterol-lowering therapy will not be sufficient to contain the disease,” the message of DGK. Yet, the heart failure or arrhythmias are diseases, neither the vessel, hereby sufficiently treatable. A hardening of the arteries could not be pushed back, probably with a single drug, or brought to a standstill, according to Professor Baldus.

Hope for new therapies

“For these three major diseases, I hope to develop that – in view of the urgency, drugs and the poor prognosis of our patients with these diseases in the field of inflammation research, new signal paths are defined, the in pharmacological therapies translate”, the conference President. His hope is based here in particular on inflammatory therapeutic strategies against these diseases. (fp)