A team of researchers from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP) will study the differences between the sexes in heart failure, an 18-month project aimed at improving and personalizing therapy, it was revealed this Thursday.
On World Heart Day, the FMUP informed the Portuguese agency that this project will begin next year, with an investment of close to 50,000 euros.
What is at stake is studying the heart cells of men and women, with the goal of identifying sex-specific biological mechanisms associated with endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular diseasediseases that have worried specialists because they are “increasingly prevalent in the Portuguese population,” they say.
A better understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms associated with endothelial dysfunction is of utmost importance, since it can provide fundamental clues for the development of more effective therapeutic strategies”, says the team led by the FMUP researcher and the Research Unit and Cardiovascular Development. (UnIC).), Rita Ferreira, quoted in a statement.
According to the FMUP, the research team will focus on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that are at the origin of a type of heart failure that is more prevalent in women (around 60%), mainly in postmenopausal women.
“Until now, The reasons for this dominance are poorly understood.with studies that point to the role of sexual hormones”, reads the information sent to Lusa.
The project is called “Impact of gender on endothelial (dys)function for the treatment of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction”.
The objective is to study the cardiac microvascular endothelial cells of men and women.
Cellular function, mediators associated with oxidative stress and the nitric oxide pathway, sex hormone receptors and their signaling pathways will be evaluated using immunodetection techniques, and proteome analysis will be performed.
According to the FMUP, with this study it is hoped that it will be possible “to identify molecular targets to improve the treatment of this type of heart failure, through a personalized therapeutic strategy.”
This work is part of the new Associated Laboratory RISE — Health Research Network: from Laboratory to Community Health.
This is a project financed within the framework of the latest competition for R&D projects in All Scientific Domains of the Foundation for Science and Technology.
Marina Dias Neto, Raquel Costa, Francisco Vasques Nóvoa, João Sérgio Neves, António Barros, Fábio Sousa Nunes, Ricardo Fontes de Carvalho and Adelino Leite Moreira are the names of the researchers involved.
The hospitals involved belong to the São João University Hospital Center, in Porto, and the Vila Nova de Gaia/Espinho Hospital Center.
Source: Observadora
