Molecule which responsible for heart damage found

Researchers at the University of Texas have found a molecule they think is responsible for damage to the heart in certain stressful conditions. It is a form of RNA, the molecule responsible for carrying the “blueprint” for proteins from the genes to the centres of protein manufacture. The function of this piece of RNA seems to be to make a slow and inefficient form of heart muscle.

The quantity of this muscle type increases when the heart is damaged. Eric Olsen, the senior author of the study, suggests that blocking the molecule might prove a way to prevent or treat heart damage.

Meanwhile, scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health report that the stress involved in responding to alarms and in fighting fires is a big contributor to the heart attacks that account for 45 per cent of deaths on duty among US firefighters. Putting out fires, they say, carries a risk 10 to 100 times greater than that of dying from non-emergency duties. The scientists suggest firefighters with underlying coronary heart disease may be poorly equipped to face the strain and effort of fire fighting.

Source : www.ft.com