A UK scientist has developed a pioneering new technique to test the effects of new drugs on the heart by using samples of beating heart tissue.
Heart-related side-effects caused by new medical treatments can often only be detected once a drug is being tested on patients in clinical trials by which time it is too late. The new technique uses a sample of heart tissue that is attached to a rig that enables the muscle to lengthen and shorten while being stimulated by an electrical impulse. This action imitates the biomechanical performance of cardiac muscle.Next, scientists can add trial drugs to the tissue in order to conclude whether or not they have a negative effect on the contraction of the muscles in the heart. Previously, researchers could only perform such a test on living animals, often with inconclusive results.
This 'simulated' cardiovascular system, which is also known as a work-loop assay, provides the most realistic model of heart muscle dynamics to date, and opens up the potential to identify negative effects of drugs in the early stages of development, potentially saving lives and speeding up the development of successful drug treatments.
The technique was developed by Dr. Helen Maddock, from the Centre for Applied Biological and Exercise Sciences at Coventry University, is an expert in cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology. She believes her new technique could improve the quality of treatment and save hundreds of patients' lives.
"I'm delighted that our research is at a stage where we can confidently say the work-loop assay we've created is the world's only clinically relevant in vitro human model of cardiac contractility," says Dr. Maddock. "It has the potential to shave years off the development of successful drugs for a range of treatments."
Dr. Maddock adds: "Both the pharma industry and regulators recognise that existing methods of assessing the contractility of the heart are fraught with problems, so we're incredibly excited to be able to introduce a new way to accurately determine the safety of drugs in respect of the heart without the need to test on humans or animals."
