Aortic aneurysm treatable with asthma drugs
A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that asthma drugs are a potential treatment for aortic aneurysm. These drugs, which block cysteinyl-leukotrienes, could reduce the break down of vessel wall tissue and the dilation of the aortic wall, and thus the risk of its rupturing. This could both save lives and reduce the need for complicated and risky surgery. The results are presented in the American scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Aortic aneurism is a life-threatening disease caused by the weakening of a section of the wall of the aorta, which then dilates and, in advanced cases, risks rupturing. If the condition is discovered in time, surgery is a possible course of action, but often the disease develops unnoticed, causing death by sudden and massive internal haemorrhage when the aneurysm bursts.
Professor emeritus Jesper Swedenborg
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