Fountain of Youth For Your Heart?

A healthy heart will use a combination of fat and sugar for energy so that the heart can beat efficiently. Researchers have found that if the heart does not use fat for energy and mainly uses sugar, heart function could increase for a longer period of time. This is due to the fact that fat accumulates when it is transported into the heart cells. If the fat is blocked from transporting to the cells, there will be no fat to accumulate and cause a decrease in heart function.

In the study, mice were genetically engineered to lack the protein responsible for transporting fat into heart cells. This means that the mice had to use sugar as their primary energy source. As the mice aged, they did not accumulate fat in their heart cells like ordinary mice did. Also, the old, genetically engineered mice performed better on a treadmill test than ordinary old mice did. The old, genetically engineered mice had heart function similar to that of young mice.

These findings show exciting potential for drugs to improve human heart function as age becomes a factor. The drugs would inhibit the protein responsible for transporting fat into the cells of the heart that use it for energy. This drug could prevent and could also possibly reverse the effects of aging on the heart.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071102111949.htm