Scientists have discovered for the first time that a devastating condition that causes the heart to fail can be reversed.
Researchers studied three retirees with heart failure caused by the buildup of sticky proteins in the heart.
Despite the condition – cardiac amyloidosis – being considered incurable, all men reported that their symptoms had naturally improved.
Scans and blood tests revealed that the toxic proteins had cleared from their heart, which had returned to health. The men, aged between 68 and 82, had also produced antibodies to fight off the deposits.
While experts haven’t yet proven the antibodies caused their recovery, they say it’s “highly likely.” Charities today called the findings a “major breakthrough.”
British researchers studied three elderly men with heart failure caused by the buildup of sticky proteins in the heart. Despite the condition being considered incurable, all reported their symptoms had improved (stock image)
They hope that the naturally produced antibodies could eventually be replicated in a lab and used as treatments for thousands of patients.
Heart failure is when the heart cannot properly pump blood around the body because the organ has become too weak or stiff.
Shortness of breath, swollen legs and ankles or feeling tired and light-headed are all symptoms of the condition, which affects 900,000 Britons and 6.5 million Americans.
Common causes include heart attacks and high blood pressure.
But heart failure can also be caused by cardiac amyloidosis — a buildup of abnormal proteins in the heart’s tissues that affect its function. It is known to affect around 6,000 people in the UK and US each year, with half dying within four years of diagnosis.
As it stands, heart failure usually cannot be cured.
However, treatments such as lifestyle changes, medications, and surgery can control symptoms for years to come.
But scientists were stunned when a 68-year-old patient with heart failure caused by cardiac amyloidosis told doctors his symptoms had improved.
It led to a search of more than 1,600 patient records by researchers from University College London (UCL) and the Royal Free Hospital in the capital, who identified just two more patients, aged 76 and 82, who also reported feeling better.
According to the study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Their recovery was confirmed with blood tests, further scans and, for one patient, an assessment of exercise capacity.
One of the men underwent a heart muscle biopsy, which showed he had an unusual inflammatory response around the amyloid deposits, suggesting his immune system had been activated.
Further tests found evidence of antibodies — protective proteins produced by the immune system — specifically targeting these amyloid proteins in the three men.
These antibodies were not found in other patients with the same disease, whose condition continued to worsen as expected.
If these antibodies could be used, they could be used to create new treatments that clear amyloid and prevent more from accumulating, the team said.
Professor Marianna Fontana, lead author of the study and cardiologist at UCL, said: ‘We have seen for the first time that the heart can get better with this disease.
“That was not known until now and it raises the bar for what could be possible with new treatments.”
Professor Julian Gillmore, head of the UCL Center for Amyloidosis, said: ‘Whether these antibodies caused the recovery of the patients has not been definitively proven.
“However, our data indicate that this is very likely and that it is possible that such antibodies could be replicated in a lab and used as a therapy.
‘We are currently investigating this further, although this research is still in a preliminary stage.’
Jon Spiers, chief executive of the Royal Free Charity, which funded the study, said: ‘This work not only represents a major breakthrough in our understanding of cardiac amyloidosis, but crucially opens new avenues for more effective treatment options.’