BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (AMEX:RGN) (www.regenerx.com) announced that this afternoon at an American Heart Association meeting in Orlando, Florida, an independent international team of medical researchers presented new data showing that administration of thymosin beta 4 (Tß4) significantly decreased heart damage after cardiac ischemia and reperfusion in pigs. In this study, the animals underwent LAD occlusion (blockage of coronary artery) for 60 minutes to simulate a heart attack and were then reperfused (opening of coronary artery) to simulate the standard of care for heart attack patients. Tß4 or placebo was then infused directly into the damaged area. Tß4 significantly decreased cardiac tissue damage, enhanced function of the damaged heart tissue, and reduced MPO levels (an enzyme associated with inflammation and adverse outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome) when compared to placebo. According to the researchers, “Consistently, Tß4 protein suffices to provide significant cardioprotection after ischemia and reperfusion.”
