Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
according to a study by Novartis. The study also showed that Diovan and Co-Diovan,
including two new high doses recently approved by the FDA, helped a significant
number of hard-to-treat patients with moderate to severe high blood pressure quickly
achieve blood pressure goals in as little as 2 weeks.
Future Prospects for Cardiovascular Biomarkers
Cardiovascular Biomarker Consortium
In 2006, the NHLBI of the NIH started to work with its Framingham Heart Study
(FHS) to create a biomarker consortium that will research markers associated with
cardiovascular disease. The initiative is developing new diagnostics to identify
high-risk individuals, and will focus on risk factors for CVD such as atherosclero-
sis, obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome. NHLBI will
use information from 7,000 FHS subjects whose CVD risk factors are already
known in order to study 150 or more “evolving or novel” biomarkers found in
serum, plasma, and urine. Two major aims for the biomarker consortium are:
1. It hopes to “identify the biochemical signature” of atherosclerosis by looking at
aortic and coronary calcification, aortic plaque burden, carotid intimal-medial
thickness, clinical atherosclerotic CVD, and the balance between calcification of
the arteries and bone demineralization.
2. It aims to identify the biochemical signature of metabolic syndrome by studying
blood pressure, obesity, visceral adiposity, dyslipidemia, impaired fasting glu-
cose, diabetes, and insulin resistance.
The NHLBI will choose the biomarkers for the study by reviewing biomarkers
of atherosclerosis and metabolic syndrome, and by studying genes linked to the two
syndromes and those showing links with “phenotypes of interest.” During the
study, new quantitative tests will be developed that can measure circulating bio-
marker levels by using antibody sandwich assays and proteomic approaches that
work with high-throughput applications. The study will focus on pathways: adhe-
sion/chemoattraction, adipokines, cytokines, growth factors, heart shock proteins,
inflammation, lipoproteins, neurohormones, thrombosis/fibrinolysis, and vascular
calcification.
Systems Approach to Biomarker Research
in Cardiovascular Disease
Systems Approach to Biomarker Research in Cardiovascular Disease (SABRe
CVD) will identify and validate new biomarkers such as proteins or molecules
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