{"id":168791,"date":"2025-09-25T17:24:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T17:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/168791\/"},"modified":"2025-09-25T17:24:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T17:24:08","slug":"targeting-heart-health-for-post-menopausal-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/168791\/","title":{"rendered":"Targeting heart health for post-menopausal women"},"content":{"rendered":"

The average lifespan of Canadian women is 83.9 years<\/a>. They tend to start menopause between the ages of 45 and 55<\/a>, which means they can spend up to 40 per cent of their lives without the hormones estrogen and progesterone protecting their hearts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a result, cardiovascular disease is the second leading cause of death in Canada<\/a>, and more women than men die of it each year<\/a>. Treatment with hormone replacement therapy is an option, but it comes with an elevated risk of breast cancer.<\/p>\n

Now, a University of Alberta research team has been granted more than a million dollars by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research<\/a> to search for and develop safer, more effective drugs to prevent heart disease in post-menopausal women.<\/p>\n

\u201cHormone replacement therapy is not good for people who have a personal or family history of breast cancer because these hormones can cause breast cancer,\u201d says principal investigator Ayman El-Kadi<\/a>, professor and associate dean of research and graduate studies for Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences<\/a>. \u201cWe’re trying to find a safer and more effective alternative that cannot cause breast cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

El-Kadi and co-investigator Dion Brocks<\/a>, professor of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, are one of 19 U of A-based research teams to receive more than $16 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research through its Spring 2025 Project Grant competition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The co-investigators will build on previous work<\/a> to examine the role of a naturally produced enzyme called cytochrome P450, or CYP, in causing or protecting against cardiac hypertrophy during menopause. Hypertrophy is a thickening of the heart muscle that makes it harder to pump blood and can lead to heart failure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CYP regulates the production of hormones and other compounds like arachidonic acid, which the body turns into metabolites that are either protective or toxic to the heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have already identified which compounds produced by the body are causing harm to the heart,\u201d says El-Kadi. \u201cOur preliminary data show that those compounds also play a significant role in cardiovascular disease during menopause.\u201d<\/p>\n

El-Kadi\u2019s team has been working with a group of biochemists at the University of Texas<\/a> to develop stable compounds that interfere with the body\u2019s production of the harmful metabolites and encourage production of more protective metabolites. Multiple CYP-derived arachidonic acid metabolites are currently under investigation in human clinical trials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe drugs we are developing in Texas are similar to endogenous (naturally occurring) compounds, but there is a small modification so they cannot be degraded by the body,\u201d explains El-Kadi. \u201cThey are similar to the good metabolites that are produced by the CYP but they are more stable, so they can be used as drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n

El-Kadi is also identifying and testing existing drugs that are currently used to treat other diseases to see whether they can be repurposed to treat heart disease in menopause.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the five-year grant period, the team will test the compounds in rats and in tissue donated by post-menopausal women who had heart disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Along with the Texas collaborators, El-Kadi and Brocks are also working with U of A professors Jason Dyck<\/a> and John Ussher<\/a>, and three new PhD students will join the team. Ayman El-Kadi is a member of the Women and Children\u2019s Health Research Institute<\/a>, the Cardiovascular Research Institute<\/a> and the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

U of A researchers receive more than $16 million from CIHR<\/p>\n

El-Kadi\u2019s study is just one of 19 University of Alberta research projects from seven faculties that received new funding from CIHR in the Spring 2025 Project Grant competition:<\/p>\n

Khaled Barakat<\/a>, Faculty of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences\u00a0
Assessing DGK Alpha as the key target for a promising immunomodulatory compound: Mechanism and implications in cancer immunotherapy
$738,226<\/p>\n

Margie Davenport<\/a>, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation
Co-principal applicants: Kari Bo, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences; Melanie Hayman, Central Queensland University; Tara-Leigh McHugh, University of Calgary
International practice and policy for pregnant and postpartum athletes
$100,000<\/p>\n

Ayman El-Kadi<\/a>, Faculty of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences\u00a0
Role of cytochrome P450 enzymes in pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy during menopause
$1,032,750<\/p>\n

Dean Eurich<\/a>, School of Public Health
Co-principal applicants: Lynden Crowshoe, University of Calgary; Salim Samanani, OKAKI Health Intelligence Inc.; Chris Sarin, Indigenous Services Canada
Optimizing immunization coverage in First Nations communities in Alberta
$1,403,776<\/p>\n

Elaine Hyshka<\/a>, School of Public Health
Co-principal applicants: Kathryn Dong<\/a>, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, Ginetta Salvalaggio<\/a>, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, Shanell Twan, Boyle Street Community Services
Expanding compulsory drug treatment in Alberta: Perspectives of people who use drugs and health-care providers
$200,000<\/p>\n

Roger Leng<\/a>, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Deciphering the USP7-UBE4B-p53 axis in cancer: Mechanistic insights and therapeutic opportunities
$650,250<\/p>\n

Matthew Macauley<\/a>, Faculty of Science
Elucidating the role of Siglec-G\/-10 in the germinal centre
$983,026<\/p>\n

Erin McCabe<\/a>, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine
Co-principal applicants: Chester Ho<\/a>, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry; Kiran Manhas, Alberta Health Services; Maria Jose Lopez Parrilla (Santana), University of Calgary; Jennifer Zwicker, University of Calgary
Advancing Learning in Neurorehabilitation (ALIGN): Co-design, implementation and evaluation of a patient-centred measurement framework within a provincial learning health system
$596,701<\/p>\n

Martin Munz<\/a>, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Embryonic cortical circuit development between neuronal classes, in vivo
$1,055,700<\/p>\n

Vivian Mushahwar<\/a>, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Fully implantable intraspinal microstimulation system for restoring mobility after spinal cord injury
$1,388,476<\/p>\n

Anna Phan<\/a>, Faculty of Science
How social isolation alters the brain and behaviour
$757,350<\/p>\n

Carla Prado<\/a>, Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences
Co-principal applicant: Rajavel Elango, University of British Columbia
Evaluating protein requirements in cancer survivorship: A novel evidence-based approach
$818,550<\/p>\n

Georg Schmolzer<\/a>, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Co-principal applicants: Elizabeth Asztalos, Sunnybrook Research Institute; Po-Yin Cheung<\/a>, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry; Anup Katheria, The SHARP Foundation; Brenda Law<\/a>, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry; Mai Luu, Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine; Gerhard Pichler, Medical University of Graz; Anne Solevaag, Oslo University Hospital; Pia Wintermark, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre; Maryna Yaskina, Women and Children\u2019s Health Research Institute
Sustained inflation and chest compression versus 3:1 chest compression to ventilation ratio during cardiopulmonary resuscitation of asphyxiated newborns \u2014 SURV1VE-2-Trial
$1,155,152<\/p>\n

Sangita Sharma<\/a>, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Co-principal applicants: Kukik Baker, Aqqiumavvik Arviat Wellness Society; Shirley Tagalik Aqqiumavvik, Arviat Wellness Society
Understanding human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and screening (including self-sampling) beliefs in Indigenous communities in Nunavut: A community-based and led, culturally safe, on-the-land approach
$100,000<\/p>\n

Maya Shmulevitz<\/a>, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Molecular determinants of virus-sialic acid binding and its role in infection and dissemination at distinct niches
$1,357,876\u00a0<\/p>\n

John Ussher<\/a>, Faculty of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences\u00a0
Co-principal applicant: Caroline Richard<\/a>, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences
Immunometabolism as a mediator of differential outcomes regarding saturated versus unsaturated fat-based ketogenic diets in obesity
$810,900<\/p>\n

Michael Weinfeld<\/a>, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Polynucleotide kinase\/phosphatase: Its role in DNA strand break repair and a potential cancer therapeutic target
$1,005,976<\/p>\n

Lori West<\/a>, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Overcoming ABO blood group inequity in transplantation: A new diagnostic assay to modernize ABO-incompatible organ transplantation
$1,071,000<\/p>\n

Toshifumi Yokota<\/a>, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Advancing RNA splicing therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy: Optimizing multi-exon skipping strategies for broader clinical applicability
$986,850<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The average lifespan of Canadian women is 83.9 years. They tend to start menopause between the ages of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[86955,49,48,86959,20841,86960,86956,4863,84,86957,86958,2373,26609,2372],"class_list":["post-168791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-ayman-el-kadi","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-institutes-of-health-research","tag-cardiovascular-disease","tag-cihr","tag-dion-brocks","tag-drug-development","tag-health","tag-jason-dyck","tag-john-ussher","tag-menopause","tag-pharmacy","tag-womens-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}