Reduced Ischaemic Tolerance in the Aged Myocardium: The Role of Adenosine and Adenosine Receptors

尽管心脏病死亡率在过去十年中有所下降，但心血管疾病仍然是65岁以上人群过早死亡的最大原因。它在医疗保健成本中占了很大的比例，而且还在不断增加。65岁以上的人中有50%患有冠状动脉疾病，随着人口老龄化，估计老年人口在未来30年将从13%至14%增加近一倍至25%。不幸的是，衰老的心脏似乎对疾病和损伤的抵抗力较弱，导致死亡率随着年龄的增长而增加。原因尚不清楚。这项研究项目将试图确定心脏在衰老过程中发生的分子变化，这些变化可能会导致抵御疾病和伤害的能力下降。这项研究将专门研究被称为腺苷受体系统的关键保护性反应在老年心脏细胞中以某种方式受损或异常的可能性。如果发现这一过程受到损害，研究人员将尝试使用新的基因治疗技术来启动心脏自身的内在防御机制，以纠正这种异常。这可能最终为治疗老年人缺血性心脏病的特定治疗方法开辟新的途径。

Despite a decline in deaths rates due to heart disease over the last decade, cardiovascular disease remains the single greatest cause of premature death in individuals over 65 years of age. It accounts for a major and increasing portion of health care costs. Coronary artery disease affects 50% of those older than 65, and with the ageing of our population it is estimated that the elderly population will nearly double from 13-14% to 25% over the next 30 years. Unfortunately, it appears that the aged heart is less resistant to disease and injury, contributing to the increase in mortality with ageing. The reasons are not known. This research project will attempt to identify molecular changes which occur in the heart during ageing which may lead to a decline in ability to withstand disease and injury. The research will specifically examine the possibility that a key protective response, known as the adenosine receptor system, is somehow impaired or abnormal in the cells of the aged heart. If it is found that this process is impaired, the research will attempt to rectify this abnormality using new genetic therapy techniques to switch on the heart's own intrinsic defense mechanisms. This may ultimately open up new avenues for specific therapeutic approaches to treatment of ischaemic heart disease in the elderly.