Aortic aneurysms - dangerous bulges in the body's main artery, the aorta - are becoming increasingly common as more people live longer. Aneurysms are typically silent and cause no symptoms. Undetected, they can lead to fatal ruptures of the aorta.
- By MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM COMMUNICATIONS
Now a study led by Harvard Medical School researchers at Mass General Brigham and funded in part by the National Institutes of Health has uncovered a new pathway that fuels the rise of aortic aneurysms. The research offers clues for treatment and prevention of these aneurysms that could also address another common condition: hypertension, which affects nearly half of all US adults.
Scientists have long suspected that oxidative stress - chemical damage that occurs in cells from the buildup of toxic molecules called free radicals - plays a role in both disorders. Yet whether and how oxidative stress causes either disease has remained unclear.
The new study, based on experiments in mice, sheds light on the molecular origins of aneurysms and pinpoints a culprit behind a signaling cascade that fuels high blood pressure and aneurysms.
The findings, described May 1 in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, could inform the design of new treatments for these dangerous and often-silent killers.
"Our research has identified an entirely new drug target for the prevention and treatment of aortic aneurysms and hypertension," said senior author Thomas Michel, HMS professor of medicine and senior cardiovascular physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system.
While much work remains before the findings can be translated to humans, the study offers a critical clue into a longstanding puzzle. Currently, there are no treatments to prevent aneurysms from forming in the first place, or to halt their growth once they develop.
"If replicated in further animal studies and in humans, these insights could pave the way to new drugs aimed at halting aneurysms before they arise, grow, and become life-threatening," Michel said.
