US researchers found link between HPV infection and heart disease

US researchers found link between HPV infection and heart disease

A study about heart disease published on Monday, October 24 has revealed that the US researchers have found evidence of a link between human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and heart disease.
 The study is first of its kind and reveals the particular ling between HPV infection and heart disease in women who have no other risk factors.

However, the research is still in its early stages and the medical experts believe that if the study confirms the link, it will offer a promising new avenue in the fight against heart
disease. Heart disease is the number one killer of women in most parts of the world including Pakistan.

Ken Fujise, Director, Division of Cardiology at University of Texas Medical Branch spoke about the finding, “Nearly 20 per cent of individuals with CVD (cardiovascular disease) do not
show any risk factors, indicating that other ‘nontraditional’ causes may be involved. HPV appears to be one such factor among women.”

HPV exists with more than 40 types and is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases. Some of HPV types can cause cervical cancer or genital warts, but most of the time HPV causes
no symptoms at all. According to a study conducted by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 50 percent of sexually active men and women get HPV at some point in their lives.

Researchers inactivated two tumour suppressing genes, p53 and retinoblastoma protein (pRb) and finally get the idea to investigate HPV as a potential cause of heart disease. The gene p53,
being the key to regulating the process, leads to hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, while pRb plays a crucial part in regulating the cell growth and proliferation.

Meanwhile, the researchers have not confirmed this link, as the study is in early process of its completion. They have not established any conclusion whether HPV cause heart disease, however,
they saw that, according to Hsu-Ko Kuo of UTMB, “oncogenic HPV types were strongly associated with CVD.”

The US researchers surveyed 2,500 women of age group 20-59, who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2003 to 2006 to derive the data. They tested
the women participants for HPV DNA via self-collected vaginal swabs. The survey tests concluded that 44.6 percent of the women tested were positive for HPV and 23.2 percent had cancer-causing HPV strains.

The researchers say that future studies would help seek out a better knowledge how HPV infection is related to atherosclerosis and examine whether HPV vaccine has any impact on likelihood
of developing heart disease.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=1587

Posted by Zeeshan Gohar on Oct 26 2011. Filed under Sci-Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry