Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Division of Cardiovascular Disease were awarded a $3.7 million grant for heart hormone research.
The grant from National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, which will be used to fund a clinical trial, was received by Dr. Pankaj Arora, associate professor of medicine and the director of the Cardiovascular Clinical and Translational Research Program and the UAB Cardiogenomics Clinic.
An estimated 37 million adults in the United States have diabetes, and an additional 96 million adults have pre-diabetes, which predisposes them to a higher risk of potentially fatal cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke and heart failure.
Researchers believe that genetically determined factors may contribute to some individuals having a higher risk of cardiometabolic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks, stroke and heart failure, and this is what the trial aims to gain insight into.
“The study is employing an innovative ‘genome-first’ strategy to assess the role of (heart hormones) in regulating the cardiovascular and metabolic health of an individual,” Arora said in a news release.
The study is the culmination of decades of interdisciplinary research conducted by UAB scientists in collaboration with investigators across the country. The study could potentially unravel a new line of personalized therapeutics, according to the release.
Arora believes studies like these build upon the advances already made in genomic medicine and bring the knowledge of decades of research back to the benefit of the patients at their bedside.
