Cardiac Hypertrophy

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Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with cardiac hypertrophy. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the heart without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

How it Works
The mechanism of action is to use low-intensity focused ultrasound to induce intravenous nanoparticles to release therapeutics only in the heart, enabling precise therapeutic benefit without systemic toxicity. This novel technique has been demonstrated using a preclinical model but has not yet been translated to the clinic. 

Advantages
The primary options for treatment of cardiac hypertrophy include lifestyle choices and medications, which frequently have limitations due to side effects. Surgical removal of cardiac hypertrophy has been considered and is still experimental. 

For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a noninvasive treatment for cardiac hypertrophy that could have less risk of complications – such as surgical wound healing or infection – at a lower cost. It can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue and is repeatable, if necessary. Focused ultrasound may also be able to offer treatment for cardiac hypertrophy without the adverse side effects of current medications. 

Clinical Trials

At the present time, there are no clinical trials recruiting patients for focused ultrasound treatment of cardiac hypertrophy.

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement 

Focused ultrasound treatment for cardiac hypertrophy is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.

Notable Papers

Anghel L, Stătescu C, Șerban IL, Mărănducă MA, Butcovan D, Clement A, Bostan M, Sascău R. The Advantages of New Multimodality Imaging in Choosing the Optimal Management Strategy for Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Diagnostics (Basel). 2020 Sep 19;10(9):E719. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics10090719.

Zhou Q, Zeng Y, Xiong Q, Zhong S, Li P, Ran H, Yin Y, Reutelingsperger C, Prinze FW, Ling Z. Nanoagents for Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound-Triggered Ultrasound Molecular Imaging of Myocardial Fibrosis in Rabbits. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2019 Jul 3;11(26):23006-23017. doi: 10.1021/acsami.9b05999. Epub 2019 Jun 24.

Rothman A, Jonas M, Castel D, Tzafriri AR, Traxler H, Shav D, Leon MB, Ben-Yehuda O, Rubin L. Pulmonary Artery Denervation Using Catheter based Ultrasonic Energy. EuroIntervention. 2019 May 7. pii: EIJ-D-18-01082. doi: 10.4244/EIJ-D-18-01082.

Zhao X, Luo W, Hu J, Zuo L, Wang J, Hu R, Wang B, Xu L, Li J, Wu M, Li P, Liu L. Cardiomyocyte-targeted and 17β-estradiol-loaded acoustic nanoprobes as a theranostic platform for cardiac hypertrophy. J Nanobiotechnology. 2018 Mar 30;16(1):36. doi: 10.1186/s12951-018-0360-3.

Click here for additional references from PubMed.

Early Stage