Technologies

UC San Diego researchers have discovered that flavanols, epicatechin in particular, protect the heart from ischemia-mediated injury by the way of reducing infarct size. Epicatechin has also demonstrated the capacity to ameliorate various indicators of tissue damage/inflammation in injured myocardium, as well as to limit the development of late adverse ventricular remodeling. Epicatechin is potentially the first compound to be able to reduce infarct size in the acute as well as chronic stage.

Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S. as well as other industrialized countries. Infarct size is hypothesized to be a major determinant of prognosis in the treatment of ischemic injuries. Therefore there is a need for a compound that the can not only reduce the infarct size in the acute stage of myocardial infarction but also in the chronic stage.