The role of sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium in the generation of early after-depolarisations and ventricular arrhythmias in the long QT syndrome (Dr Cherry Alexander)
Supervised by Dr Rachel Myles, this Clinical Research Training Fellow will work out how an inherited heart condition, called long QT syndrome, puts patients at risk of developing life-threatening fast heart rhythms (arrhythmias). Currently, we do not understand what triggers these abnormal heart rhythms in long QT syndrome, which means we cannot predict or prevent them. Studies in single cells taken from the heart suggest that abnormal calcium release from within the cell disrupts the electrical balance of the cell, which could act as trigger for an abnormal heart rhythm. Whether these electrical disruptions in one cell are enough to trigger fast rhythms in the whole heart is unknown. In this project, the researchers will examine these electrical disruptions in detail in the heart of rabbits with long QT syndrome. They will determine whether abnormal calcium release within the cell triggers abnormal rhythms and if it provides the right conditions for abnormal rhythms to spread across the heart. This is the first study to use direct imaging of calcium release within the cell to directly answer these questions. This research may help to identify which patients with long QT syndrome are most at risk of arrhythmias and may reveal a new target for drugs to prevent these abnormal rhythms.
Project details
| Grant amount | £197,642 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Fellowships |
| Application type | Clinical Research Training Fellowship |
| Start Date | 04 August 2015 |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Reference | FS/15/50/31500 |
| Status | Complete |
