(image: Korea Bizwire)
DAEJEON, May 28 (Korea Bizwire) — A research team has developed a technology that can effectively treat arteriosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries, using a medicine the size of nanometer, one thousand-millionth of a meter.
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said Wednesday that it has developed a nano drug transfer technology that can effectively remove “plaque” in the blood vessels.
The condition is generally referred to as arteriosclerosis, a vascular disease in which lumps of plaque consisting of fat and cholesterol build up on the walls of the blood vessel, causing the blood vessels to narrow or become blocked.
When plaque blocks blood vessels, it causes myocardial infarction and stroke. Ischemic heart disease and stroke, such as myocardial infarction, are considered the top causes of death around the world.
Oral administration of statins, hyperlipidemia drugs, is typically prescribed to treat atherosclerosis.
Statins are effective in lowering cholesterol levels in the blood, but are unable to remove plaque that has already been formed.
Sugar compounds known as cyclodextrins are known to be effective in removing cholesterol. However, there is a risk of hearing loss by damaging hair cells in the inner ear.
The research team manufactured cyclodextrin with a 10-nanometer-sized polymer and injected it into subjects’ veins.
The team then confirmed that it does not accumulate in the ear and sticks only to plaque, effectively removing plaque and reducing toxicity.
In particular, it has been shown that plaque is more effectively removed when cyclodextrins and statins are manufactured into 100 nanometer-sized particles and injected into veins through self-assembly, a phenomenon in which macromolecules gather on their own under certain conditions.
Cyclodextrins remove the cholesterol in plaque.
Statins play a role in eliminating “inflammatory foamy macrophage,” cells that have become foam cells due to excessive accumulation of fat in macrophages, which are immune cells.
In particular, the team explained that such a complex treatment method is much more effective than delivering each drug separately.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
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