Develop treatments for cardiovascular diseases

According to WHO, cardiovascular disease (CVDs), mainly heart disease and stroke, is the top cause of death globally. Statiscally, about 17.3 million people have died from CVDs in 2008, representing 30% of all global death, and over 80% of CVDs take place in low and middle income countries. Most CVDs can be prevented by control diet, tobacco use, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and physical activity.

Calcium plays an important role in regulating the contraction and relaxation phases of the cardiac cycle. Calcium flows into the muscle cells through tiny channels and works as a switch that allows each heart muscle fiber to slide past each other and shorten to contract. At the end of each contraction, calcium flows out of the channels to allow the muscles to relax and lengthen again. Indeed, myocardial contractility is primarily controlled by calcium cycling. When there are calcium ion cycling defects in heart, the heart is not able to adequately pump sufficient blood and it leads to heart failure, which is characterized by reduced calcium entry into cardiac muscle cells and decreased myofilament calcium sensitivity. Consequently, many health professionals have suggested that improvements in calcium cycling or sensitivity be an useful treatment of heart failure. Calcium also plays an important role in triggering timely and strong enough contraction in the cardiac muscle to circulate blood throughout the body. The cardiac muscles require calcium to contract and squeeze blood out of the heart and into the arteries in in the body. The CBHI suggest that SAC calcium plays an important role in the maintenance of cardiac function and blood circulation because SAC calcium may promote cardiac relaxation and contractility. In other words, SAC calcium helps synchronize cardiovascular muscle contraction. We are planning to examine how SAC calcium positively influence cardiac function over next few years.

Many scientists have argued that the death of brain cells following a stroke is associated with an overload of charged calcium particles or ions. As the brain does not receive enough oxygen due to reduced blood flow, it causes high levels of calcium within the brain cells. They suggest that blocking the entry of calcium ions into dying nerve cells to treat stroke is not the answer for stroke. It is required to remove calcium ions from the nerve cell in order to treat stroke. We are planning to develop SAC calcium to help remove unnecessary calcium ions from the brain cell in order to adjust calcium imbalance. Based on the recent scientific findings, measuring calcium level in the arteries gives a better indicator of likelihood of heart attack and stroke.

Recent studies shows that patients with stroke have higher levels of calcium in their arteries, especially in coronary arteries. High serum calcium level leads to calcium deposit in the body, which contribute to the development of cardiovascular diseases. The CBHI have found that SAC calcium helps correct the calcium imbalance by directing calcium to bones and excreting unnecessary calcium in the body. The CBHI will investigate the effect of SAC calcium on stroke.