Tag: stanford

Scientists Get $10 Million Grant to Develop HCM Treatments

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A group of scientists led by Stanford University’s Dr. James Spudich, working together with researchers from the University of California-Santa Barbara, the University of Washington and the Institut Curie in Paris, has recently been awarded a $10 million grant by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to develop novel treatments for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). 

The researchers hope that the added resources from this grant will help them find ways to correct pathological heart protein changes they believe to be at the root of HCM. The team then plans to partner with pharmaceutical companies to develop more personalized approaches to HCM treatment.

Dr. Spudich has long been involved in HCM research and has been a founder of two separate companies which are currently engaged in drug trials for potential HCM treatments:  MyoKardia and Cytokinetics.

A story about Dr. Spudich and the inspiration for his work was featured in this recent post on HCMBeat.

Exercise Helps HCM Patients – Results from RESET-HCM Study

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Results from a recent study conducted at the University of Michigan and Stanford show that patients who participated in a moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise program showed a small, but statistically significant increase (6%) in exercise capacity over those who did not participate in the program.  Of note, no adverse events were reported in any of the 136 adults who participated in the RESET-HCM study over its four-month duration. These results were announced over the weekend at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Washington, D.C.

A companion editorial noted that this study is important for establishing the positive impact of exercise on HCM patients. Now, the need is for future research to establish safe exercise guidelines for HCM patients.  Many remain reluctant to exercise due to fear of suffering an adverse event during exercise.

Here is a video interview with one of the authors of the study, Dr. Sara Saberi, discussing the findings at ACC.

Stay tuned to HCMBeat for more about this important work which will hopefully lead to improved quality of life for HCM patients.

Do Elite Athletes Provide Clues About HCM?

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During the Olympics we all gather around our television sets to watch the best athletes in the world compete against each other and we wonder how it is that they can humanly perform at such a high level?

This feature story about Stanford HCM Clinic’s Dr. Euan Ashley provides us with an interesting overview of the research Dr. Ashley is doing on high performance elite athletes with the hope that their genes may provide clues that will one day help to help treat those of us with HCM and other genetic heart conditions.