Heart failure affects millions of Americans. It's possible that gene therapy could reverse this disabling condition. A metro man and a local hospital are taking part in the potentially groundbreaking research.
Tom Gowan's heart has lost much of its pumping power. Congestive heart failure has left Tom with little energy.
"I guess the old saying goes, we didn't have nothing else to lose," he said.
So in mid-July at St. Luke's Hospital, Tom became one of the first 50 Americans in a study of MYDICAR, gene therapy that could possibly repair the heart.
A catheter inserted in the upper leg is threaded up to the heart and drips the liquid into two arteries.
"It really goes into all these tiny little branches so it can go inside the heart cell," St. Luke's cardiologist Dr. Andrew Kao said.
A cold virus delivers the gene into the muscle cells. Because a virus delivers the gene, potential study participants are tested to see if they've had that virus before. If they have, they aren't eligible for the study.
"We take out the harmful parts of the virus and we leave the outer parts of the virus," Dr. Kao said.
The gene in a heart cell stimulates production of an enzyme that allows the heart to pump more efficiently. One out of four patients in the study get a placebo, an inactive substance. Tom and Dr. Kao don't know yet which he got.
"I kinda feel like I've improved," Tom said.
The research will show if the gene therapy really does improve heart function and whether it's safe.
"We'll have to see if this gene just becomes part of the heart and it's accepted on its own. Or if it's rejected or something in the future, we won't know til a couple of years from now," Dr. Kao said.
Tom is at the beginning of what could be a revolution in the treatment of congestive heart failure.
Tom Gowan's heart has lost much of its pumping power. Congestive heart failure has left Tom with little energy.
"I guess the old saying goes, we didn't have nothing else to lose," he said.
So in mid-July at St. Luke's Hospital, Tom became one of the first 50 Americans in a study of MYDICAR, gene therapy that could possibly repair the heart.
A catheter inserted in the upper leg is threaded up to the heart and drips the liquid into two arteries.
"It really goes into all these tiny little branches so it can go inside the heart cell," St. Luke's cardiologist Dr. Andrew Kao said.
A cold virus delivers the gene into the muscle cells. Because a virus delivers the gene, potential study participants are tested to see if they've had that virus before. If they have, they aren't eligible for the study.
"We take out the harmful parts of the virus and we leave the outer parts of the virus," Dr. Kao said.
The gene in a heart cell stimulates production of an enzyme that allows the heart to pump more efficiently. One out of four patients in the study get a placebo, an inactive substance. Tom and Dr. Kao don't know yet which he got.
"I kinda feel like I've improved," Tom said.
The research will show if the gene therapy really does improve heart function and whether it's safe.
"We'll have to see if this gene just becomes part of the heart and it's accepted on its own. Or if it's rejected or something in the future, we won't know til a couple of years from now," Dr. Kao said.
Tom is at the beginning of what could be a revolution in the treatment of congestive heart failure.
