By Ebba Ritzen
Aortic dissection is a rare but life-threatening condition where there is a tear in the inner wall of the aorta, the main artery in the body that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body. A research project at the University of Dundee has now been awarded a £200,000 grant by Heart Research UK, to develop a faster test for better diagnosing the condition and hopefully save more lives.
More people die in the UK of aortic dissection every year than in road accidents. The condition has a survival rate of less than 50%, often thought to be due to missed or delayed diagnosis when people arrive in hospital.
Dissection is often caused by an underlying aortic aneurysm, a swelling or bulging of the aorta. These often have no symptoms up to the point of dissection. This is why it is important that we improve the diagnosis of acute aortic dissection, as well as improve how we measure the risk of dissection for those with a known aortic aneurysm.
Dr Huang and the project he leads are trying to do just that. Previous research has discovered a substance called desmosine that, when present in the blood, indicates damage to the aorta. The levels of desmosine in the blood can also accurately predict the severity of an aortic aneurysm and the risk of it dissecting.
This has led to the possibility that desmosine can be used to diagnose and predict risk of dissection, but unfortunately the process for measuring the desmosine levels takes too long for it to be useful in an emergency.
Dr Huang’s project aims to shorten the analysis time so that desmosine can be used in emergency situations and hopefully improve the numbers of people who survive aortic dissection.
Dr Huang
Dr Jeffrey Huang said:
“Quicker diagnoses of aortic dissection could change the game in emergency situations, which would be a turning point in improving survival and long-term outcomes for these patients. The discovery of desmosine also has significant potential in informing us about the risk of dissection in aortic aneurysms, which would help patients to make informed decisions about their own care.”
Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive at Heart Research UK, said:
“We’re pleased to be awarding one of our Novel and Emerging Technologies grants to Dr Huang and his team. The number of people dying from aortic dissection is devastating and a quicker and better way of diagnosing the condition would save lives.”
