THURSDAY, April 6, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- The commonly-prescribed blood pressure drug losartan (Cozaar) prevented a fatal weakening of arteries in mice with Marfan syndrome, suggesting the drug may benefit people with this genetic cardiac disease.
The syndrome can lead to a fatal tear or rupture in the aorta, the body's main artery that carries blood away from the heart.
"The results of our study in mice greatly increase the likelihood that losartan will also serve as an effective treatment in humans and quickly, because it is already approved for use in the United States as a safe and effective treatment for hypertension," study senior author Dr. Harry Dietz, professor at the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement.
The findings were published online Thursday in the journal Science.
This is the first study to identify a drug that can prevent weakening of the aorta caused by Marfan syndrome and potentially repair damage caused by the disease.
Efforts are underway to begin a clinical trial to test losartan in people with Marfan syndrome, which affects more than 30,000 people in the United States.
"It is very exciting that an existing medication has proven capable of not only treating the problems of Marfan syndrome, but also disrupting the biological pathway that precipitated them," study co-lead author Dr. Daniel P. Judge, assistant professor at Hopkins and its Heart Institute, said in a prepared statement.
Currently, surgery is the main option for repairing an aorta that's at risk of rupturing in people with Marfan syndrome.
More information
The National Marfan Foundation has more about Marfan syndrome.
