How an anti inflammatory drug helps the heart after a heart attack

Every day, thousands of people worldwide suffer a heart attack, often leading to lasting damage to the heart muscle. New research suggests that targeting inflammation in the body help protect the heart and improve recovery after a heart attack.
Researchers from the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital have been studying a medicine that blocks the effect of IL-6 - a substance that stimulates inflammation. Previously, they have shown that administrating this medicine in addition to established treatment for heart attacks has promising results: the patients suffered less damage to their hearts. The research provides new insight into how inflammation affects the heart during a heart attack, and how this treatment can protect the heart from damage following STEMI, a type of heart attack where the risk of serious complications is high.

Read the original "Research news" article from the University of Oslo homepage:
How an anti inflammatory drug helps the heart after a heart attack (uio.no)

Reference:
Huse C, Murphy SL, Yang K, Balzer NR, Stokke MK, Anstensrud AK, Bjerkeli V, Rentz T, Jha PK, Ugland HK, Michelsen AE, Ueland T, Holm S, Tøllefsen IM, Bendz B, Kleveland O, Andersen GØ, Gullestad L, Louch WE, Woxholt S, Osnes L, Broch K, Ulas T, Aukrust P, Libby P. Halvorsen B, Dahl, TB (2025)
The effects of interleukin-6-receptor inhibition on monocytes in STEMI: a substudy of the ASSAIL-MI trial
EBioMedicine, 121, 105960
DOI 10.1016/j.ebiom.2025.105960, PubMed 41076990

Camilla Huse (first author)

Tuva Børresdatter Dahl (shared last author)

Immune regulation in atherosclerosis and other cardiometabolic diseases research group, led by Bente Halvorsen

The Research Institute of Internal Medicine (RIIM)

From the UiO article: