Metabolic Mechanisms of Cardiac Failure in Congenital Heart Disease
Patrick Jay, M.D., Ph.D. suspects that the heart muscle of children with heart failure may be insulin resistant. If that's the case, drugs ordinarily given to type 2 diabetics to improve glucose metabolism could help children with failing hearts.
Seeking New Culprits in Inflammatory Diseases
Sometimes immune system cells and chemicals meant for use against invading microorganisms accidentally turn their firepower on the body. Anthony French, M.D., Ph.D, is studying innate immune system cells called natural killer cells in order to determine when the cells are behaving normally and when they contribute to disease.
The Heart of the Matter
In some children, heart failure is due to a structural defect, and in others, the heart could be damaged by infection, but the cause for most heart failure in kids is unknown. Jennifer Gries Duncan, M.D., is following her hunch that the heart’s metabolism, or how it uses energy, is at the center of childhood heart failure.