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Researchers from Osaka University have discovered that the dietary supplement Tricaprin can significantly improve heart disease symptoms in a subset of cardiovascular patients and treat a so-called “broken heart.”
A broken heart, also known as a broken heart or heart anguish, is a metaphor for the intensity of emotional, and sometimes physical, stress or pain a person experiences as a result of intense and deep heartbreak.
CAD coronary artery disease, which involves narrowing or even blocking of the heart’s arteries and often leads to a heart attack, is a leading cause of death worldwide.
But despite treatments such as cholesterol-lowering drugs and drug-filled stents, a new stent technology for topical drug delivery, deaths from the condition are still common, and some patients appear to be resistant to treatment.
Cardiomyopathy
TGCV triglyceride cardiomyopathy, a coronary atherosclerotic disorder of diffuse narrowing with TG triglyceride deposition as a result of defective intracellular lipolysis, is a common coronary artery disease.
TGCV is not diagnosed often in patients who are resistant to standard treatments.
However, taking dietary tricaprine helped improve symptoms in some patients within two months. Follow-up CT angiography showed a significant reduction in atherosclerotic lesions, according to SciTechDaily, citing the European Heart Journal.
In turn, Ken-ichi Hirano, the study’s principal investigator, said, “Almost 15 years ago, a new type of CAD called TGCV triglyceride cardiomyopathy (TGCV) was identified, in which blockages occur in coronary arteries by triglyceride deposits resulting from defective breakdown within the coronary arteries.” triglycerides in vascular smooth muscle cells.
“This mechanism makes TGCV distinct from classical cholesterol-induced atherosclerosis, and considers patients who are resistant to standard therapies for CAD,” he explained.
Diagnostic criteria
The researchers developed diagnostic criteria for TGCV, and showed that this condition is particularly prevalent in patients with diabetes and those on dialysis. Despite the ability to diagnose this condition, effective treatment for these patients has remained elusive.
Ken-ichi Hirano said, “A significant regression of diffuse coronary atherosclerosis was reported in two patients with TGCV. Both had chest pain and diabetes until they were diagnosed with TGCV, and subsequent dietary tricaprine alleviated the symptoms.”
Commercially available
Tricaprin dietary supplement is commercially available for the purpose of enhancing the breakdown of fats by heart muscle cells, in addition to relieving the unpleasant and painful symptoms of these patients. Tricaprine also significantly reduces the accumulation of triglycerides in the blood vessels of the heart.
Ken-ichi Hirano added: “While regression of atherosclerosis following reduced blood lipid levels is well described, this is the first report of a decrease in triglyceride levels due to increased intracellular degradation, and is therefore a conceptually novel treatment for coronary atherosclerosis.”
Given that not all patients respond to current therapies for coronary artery sclerosis, the results of this study pave the way towards establishing a multifaceted approach to its treatment.
