A potential gene therapy to keep our hearts healthy as we age

Transferring healthy longevity gene to improve age-related heart dysfunction

There are more than 11 million people in the UK aged 65 or over. This number is expected to rise dramatically in the next decade or so, because we now live longer than ever before. Although good news, an aging population also can mean an increase in diseases common in old age. A major debilitating disease common in the elderly is heart failure. Finding a way to help people live into old age with a healthy heart is a major goal for researchers. Lead by Dr Madeddu, this team in Bristol are investigating the potential of gene therapy to reduce the damage caused by aging in the heart. Some people naturally possess a variation of a gene associated with living a long life in good health. The team will transfer this gene to aged mice and see what effect it has on their heart function. They will also study exactly how the gene is having these effects. If this treatment works in mice, it will be the first step towards testing whether we can avoid or slow down the decline in heart health seen in our ageing population. Having a strong heart will help to give people a good quality of life well into their old age – matching lifespan with health span.