Discovery Stems From Here

Axol Bioscience is presenting at the two-day seminar hold by Evercyte and Altetox in Vienna, from 30-31 October. Book your ticket today.

Atrial fibrillation is estimated to affect around 6 million people in Europe, making it the most common arrhythmia observed in the clinic. The irregular heartbeat and disturbed electrical activity experienced by atrial fibrillation patients is commonly treated by surgical interventions such as pacemakers or the ablation of diseased tissue, or with non-selective class IC (Nav) and III (Kv) ion channel anti-arrhythmic drugs. However, these approaches can have serious side-effects, so extensive research has been devoted to better understand the cellular mechanisms behind the disease to develop safer and more effective treatments.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia observed in the clinic, affecting 6 million patients in Europe and accounting for 30% of strokes. The prevalence of atrial fibrillation continues to grow due to an aging population and is expected to double over the next 50 years. Given the need to develop safer and more effective anti-arrhythmic therapeutics, considerable efforts have been made to understand the cellular mechanisms of the disease and translate this knowledge into innovative treatments.

The rapid development of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cells (iPSCs) is set to revolutionise modern drug discovery through the increased utilisation of human cell reagents in research.

Until recently, despite being the most prominent cell type in the human brain, research on astrocytes has been overshadowed by neurons. Once thought to only provide structural support to neurons it has become clear that astrocytes are a vastly heterogenous population of cells with varied functions and roles to match.