"We believe urocortin II represents a new class of cardiovascular-active agents that may prove to have a beneficial role in the treatment of congestive heart failure," said Peterson. "However, human urocortin is somewhat different from mouse urocortin, and further experimentation will be needed before we have a usable treatment for people."
The researchers are continuing to work on pinpointing all of the mechanisms by which urocortin II triggers its beneficial cardiovascular effects. Further studies will take place in animals. Following their completion, human clinical trials will begin.
Additional authors of the paper were first author Tracy L. Bale, previously with the Salk Institute and currently with the University of Pennsylvania; and Mashahiko Hoshijima, Yusu Gu, Nancy Dalton and Kenneth Chien, UCSD; and Keith R. Anderson, Kuo-Fen Lee and Jean Rivier, the Salk Institute.
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Contact: Andrew Porterfield
porterfield@salk.edu
858-453-4100 ex 1340
Salk Institute
10-Mar-2004