Recent discoveries in cardiac biology lead to new treatment approaches.

2004 JUL 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Recently, research has led to greater understanding of cardiac function at a molecular level, researchers say.

According to a study from the United States, "The heart is the first organ to form in the embryo, and all subsequent events in the life of the organism depend on its function."

"Inherited mutations in cardiac regulatory genes give rise to congenital heart disease, the most common form of human birth defects, and abnormalities of the adult heart represent the most prevalent cause of morbidity and mortality in the industrialized world," wrote E.N. Olson and colleagues, University of Texas, Southwest Medical Center.

The researchers concluded: "The past decade has marked a transition from physiological and functional studies of the heart toward a deeper understanding of cardiac function (and dysfunction) at genetic and molecular levels. ...