The technology used in the development of Pfizer vaccines, Modern COVID-19 could prevent fatal heart attacks

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The same technology used to help Pfizer and Moderna develop their COVID-19 vaccines could prevent fatal heart attacks, according to doctors at the Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research.

Pfizer and Modern COVID-19 vaccines use bioengineered ribonucleic acid to trick people’s bodies into fighting the virus. Researchers at the Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research say they have now learned to use this same technology to prevent the production of a protein related to fatal heart attacks.

Doctors call it lipoprotein (a), also known as Lp (a), the malignant twin of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), commonly known as bad cholesterol. Lp (a) has an additional coil of protein that breaks down the wall of the arteries, causing blood clots and inflammation. This increases the chances of developing cardiovascular disease and suffering a fatal heart attack or stroke.

Dr. Michal Koren is both a cardiologist and research director at the Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research. His research on bioengineered ribonucleic acid helped Pfizer and Moderna develop their COVID-19 vaccines. He says the same technology seems to work against Lp (a).

Announcements

“When it comes to COVID-19 vaccines, we are using RNA messages to improve the signal to expose the immune system to ear protein. When we treat cholesterol problems, we use RNA technology to block messages, so the our bodies don’t produce that bad chemical, ”Koren said.

Koren says people who have high levels of Lp (a) may not know they have it, because it is not routinely tested. People who have suffered a heart attack or stroke at age 30 or 40 tend to have higher levels of Lp (a). Super high levels of Lp (a) combined with other cholesterol levels have been found in much younger patients. Koren says this protein is usually hereditary.

“Half the family members of an index case can also have this problem, so it’s important to understand the genetic relationships of people in a family, especially if someone has had a heart attack or stroke in an early age, ”Koren said. .

Announcements

RNA treatment currently under investigation involves an injection similar to the COVID-19 vaccine. If the administration of food and medicine approves the treatment, people with high levels of Lp (a) will no longer have to undergo plasmapheresis, a process that filters their blood in the same way as a dialysis machine that filters their blood. kidneys.