July 14, 2014

Zebrafish used to identify compound that reverses lethal cardiomyopathy


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New findings could help lead to drug treatment to prevent dangerous genetic heart disease

Using a zebrafish model, scientists have identified a drug compound that appears to reverse arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), a hereditary disease and leading cause of sudden death in young people. The findings, led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in collaboration with Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, provide a key first step in developing new therapies for this dangerous condition, for which there is currently no preventive treatment.