One of the main obstacles faced nowadays after a patient suffers an acute infarction is blood reperfusion. In order to restore the blood flow, two main treatments are commonly used: thrombolytic therapy and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI). Although these method salvage myocardium integrity that would eventually be lost without reperfusion, the rapid restoration of blood flow can lethally compromise oxygen-deprived cells. This reperfusion injury can offset the myocardium integrity achieved by pPCI and/or thrombolysis.
Thus, there is a current need to develop alternative methods that allow the treatment of infarction and other cardiovascular disorders with a reduction in infarct size caused by post-ischemia reperfusion injury.
In this regard, Dr. Alberto Domínguez Rodríguez has developed a treatment which involves the intravenous administration of melatonin to patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction prior to performing pPCI. Dr. Domínguez has developed a method for treating reperfusion in patients that have suffered a myocardial infarction with ST-elevation. The main objective pursued is to reduce the infarct size caused by reperfusion injury. The obtained results seem to indicate that the early administration of melatonin for the treatment of these patients results in a significant cardioprotective effect against reperfusion injuries after ischemia.
The inventor has assessed the efficacy of the developed method in a phase II clinical trial (NCT00640094). The main objective of this study was to determine whether melatonin treatment reduces infarct size (percentage of total myocardial necrotic mass) by cardiac magnetic resonance. Furthermore, a pilot study has been conducted to evaluate the effects of melatonin on MMP-9, a protein involved in ventricular remodeling, as well as other cardiac adverse effects. The obtained results demonstrated that melatonin administration was associated with better outcomes in AMI patients undergoing pPCI. In addition, the descripted method is currently protected under a USA patent application.
Benefits:
- This method allows for the reduction of myocardial infarct size through the administration of a natural molecule.
- The studies performed highlight the potential of melatonin as a cardioprotective agent, reducing the development of heart failure in patients who have suffered an infarction.
- It is not necessary to perform an intracoronary administration, given that a cardioprotective effect is observed even when melatonin is administered only intravenously.
- It has been proven to be a safe adjunct treatment, even in cases where supraphysiological melatonin doses are employed.
The represented inventor is looking for a collaboration that leads to commercial exploitation of the presented invention.
Inventor: Alberto Domínguez Rodríguez
TRL: 5-6
Protection status: Patent Application
Contact: Carlos G. Gredilla / c.gredilla@viromii.com
