Research in Wales
Thanks to the fantastic generosity and commitment of our supporters, we’ve pioneered some of the most important medical research breakthroughs over the last 60 years.
Research Funding in Wales
We are investing £3.6 million in life saving research at universities across Wales.
BHF-funded research in Wales
Professor Julian Halcox – Swansea University
Cardiovascular risk factor assessment and treatment in patients with depression in Wales: A data linkage study
People with depression have been shown to be more likely to develop heart disease than those without depression. It is not fully understood why this happens. One reason may be that in concentrating on the patient's mental health problem, issues surrounding physical health can get overlooked. This may include factors such as high blood pressure or cholesterol levels in the blood, both of which increase the risk of developing heart disease and can be effectively treated to reduce this risk.
Our preliminary work has shown that patients with depression are less likely than patients without depression to have their cholesterol checked after treatment with coronary angioplasty and stenting and also less likely to achieve European specialist treatment guideline target levels. This was even more likely in women with depression than in men.
We want to explore whether people with depression in the wider population without pre-existing heart disease are less likely to have these risk factors assessed and treated as effectively as those without depression. In addition, we want to explore whether socio-economic status (determined by small area deprivation codes) and where someone lives (city or village) influences an individual's likelihood of risk factor assessment and effective treatment.
Professor Caleb Webber – Cardiff University
Unravelling gene changes in the brain in vascular dementia
Professor Caleb Webber is studying cells in the brain that make up the neurogliovascular unit – a collection of cells that form or link with the blood vessels that deliver nutrients and help remove waste. When we age, or experience conditions such as vascular dementia, this unit stops working properly which can lead to cognitive decline.
In this project, Professor Webber will study both healthy donated brains and brains with vascular dementia to develop a map of how gene activity changes during health and disease. He wants to know which genes are switched on or off in the neurogliovascular unit when it is working properly, and how this changes during vascular dementia.
By combining this information with genetic studies, he aims to identify which genes influence our risk of getting vascular dementia and why these genes are important. This knowledge could reveal new ways to treat the condition and will help us to develop drugs that can prevent or slow cognitive decline and dementia.
Dr Ewan Fowler – Cardiff University
Can switching calcium channels on and off prevent dangerous heart rhythms?
Dr Ewan Fowler is studying how the heart pumps blood around the body. Heart contraction (squeezing) is controlled by calcium-specific channels (called ryanodine receptors, RYR2) that open and close, allowing calcium in and out of heart muscle cells. When calcium level rises in cells the heart contracts, and when it falls the heart relaxes.
In heart failure and an inherited condition called catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), the RYR2 channels become unstable, resulting in calcium leakage and irregular heart rhythms, or arrhythmia. Dr Fowler believes that arrhythmia could be triggered when there is increased calcium leak during heart relaxation. In this project, he will investigate if this is true and find ways to block or boost the RYR2 channels depending on whether the heart is active or resting, and determine if this can treat arrhythmias in mice. Dr Fowler wants to develop a ‘switch’ that makes the RYR2 channels less leaky when the heart relaxes. He hopes that this approach of finetuning the flow of calcium will have less side effects than the current RYR2 channel-blocking drugs.
This work could lead to a new treatment that could help prevent sudden death in patients with CPVT and other heart conditions.
Professor Valerie O'Donnell – Cardiff University
Understanding how lipids in the blood influence the growth of abdominal aneurysms
An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a swelling in the aorta, the main blood vessel that runs from the heart down through the chest and abdomen. People with AAA are often monitored to see if the swelling gets bigger, when they will need surgery. There are no treatments to prevent the aneurysm getting larger, but some studies suggest that blood clotting might be involved, making this a potential avenue to explore.
Professor O’Donnell and her team have found that certain fats in the blood, called phospholipids , could be involved in the development of AAA. In this programme, they will study two of these phospholipids (eoxPL and lysoPL) in more detail. They will look at how eoxPL controls blood clotting and the breakdown of clots in mice during AAA development. They will also study aorta tissue samples and blood clots from 100 people who had surgery for AAA, measuring the amounts of eoxPL and lysoPL and how these link to metabolism and inflammation.
Finally, they plan to see whether treating mice with eoxPL, could prevent or even reverse an aortic aneurysm in mice. The goal is to understand how blood lipids influence blood clotting and act together during AAA development, and whether drugs that affect this process could limit the progression of an aneurysm.