Nanotechnology & Drug Delivery Beat Atherosclerosis

Makayla Atkins
Nov 3 · 4 min read

The human heart is seen as a symbol of love and passion. It is something that we use to express our feelings and emotions to one another.

I’m sure that you have seen couples walking down the street holding hands or your mom and dad telling each other that they love the other.

The human heart is the foundation of any emotion and feeling, whether it is sadness or joy. We either use complete hearts or broken hearts. The heart is the center of our feelings.

But what we don’t realize is that our hearts are extremely vulnerable to more than just heartbreak but in fact, diseases.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death within the world as of 2016.

In the United States of America alone, 610,000 people pass away because of heart disease every year. That is 1 in every 4 deaths!!

1 IN EVERY 4 DEATHS!!

THAT’S CRAZY!!

The most common heart disease is Atherosclerosis. Within the United States of America, 360,000 people pass away every year, due to, this disease. What’s extremely scary about atherosclerosis is that half of the men that pass away because of this form of heart disease, showed no symptoms before their untimely passings.

Atherosclerosis, also known as hardening of the arteries, is a disease where plague, made of fatty deposits, begins to build up and clog a person’s arteries.

plaque (in yellow) clogging the pathway within an artery

As the plaque builds up within the arteries, the walls of the blood vessel thicken. Thus, creating a narrow channel for the blood to flow through. Over time of plaque build-up, the blood flow will become more and more restricted. With restricted blood flow, comes lesser amounts of oxygen and nutrients being transported within the blood throughout the rest of the body.

Plaque within the arteries is a risky thing. If a piece of the plaque were to break off and begin to flow through the blood vessel, the plaque will eventually get stuck and begin to form a blood clot. The loose plaque will also begin to cut off blood flow. Which then can lead to a heart attack or a stroke.

a model of the human heart

However, the risk of a heart attack or stoke never has to happen at the rate that it does as long as nanotechnology and drug delivery technology exists.

The mix of nanotechnology and drug delivery results in the engineering of particles that are registered to be attracted to diseased cells. This then allows for direct treatment of the diseased cells.

Many researchers and laboratories have been working on developing methods with nanotechnology and drug delivery to bring the number of deaths due to heart disease down to a very low minimum of zero!

One of these methods that have been developed was by the University of Georgia or UGA.

The University of Georiga has been working with nanoparticles that contain high-density lipoproteins or HDLs and MRI contrasting agent of iron oxide to treat the build-up of plaque on the artery walls.

Another method that has been established, is the method of developing polymer nanoparticles that focus only on the inflamed issue with the arteries that is caused by the plaque. After focusing on the inflamed tissue, the nanoparticles will then dissolve and releasing drugs into the tissue to reduce the swelling and inflammation.

The University of Santa Barbara has also developed a method to help treat atherosclerosis. Within this method, a nanoparticle is used to deliver drugs to plaque that is on the wall of the arteries. A peptide or protein is attached to the nanoparticle which then allows the nanoparticle to bind with the surface of the plaque and then relieve the artery of some of the plaque build-up.

However, all three of these methods are currently in clinical trials and may not reach the medical field with the year of 2019.

But nanotechnology and drug delivery are making advancements and will soon be used in treating in the treatments of many, if not all, diseases!

Article Overview:

  1. Heart disease is no joke and a serious killer.
  2. Nanotechnology and drug delivery has the potential to end atherosclerosis and many other heart diseases!
  3. Many methods have been developed and are in the process of clinical trials.

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