Page 4 - Peter Munk Toronto Star

M4⎮TORONTO STAR SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2015 ON ON1

PETER MUNK CARDIAC CENTRE The S-ICDTM System

> GENETIC DISCOVERIES Protection Without Touching the Heart

THOMAS BOLLMANN PHOTOS The World’s First and Only Subcutaneous
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator
From left, surgeons Dr. Richard Weisel, Dr. Maral Ouzounian and Dr. Phyllis Billia examining tissue samples.
The S-ICD System represents an exciting therapeutic solution
Better understanding for patients at risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) that leaves the
of diseases could be heart and vasculature untouched.
just a biobank away
Learn more at www.SICDsystem.com.

Refer to product labeling for licensed indications, contraindications, warnings/precautions and adverse events.
For professional use only. www.bostonscientific.com/sicd
© 2013 Boston Scientific Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved. CRM-106015-AC NOV2013

Tissue, blood donations from more than 2,000 heart patients sive to medication.
will help establish genetic markers and lead to medication “We know that some patients are

JUNE ROGERS gone surgery for aortic dissections, sensitive to Aspirin, while others are Amgen is committed
valve replacements and device im- resistant,” says Billia. “It would be to research in
SPECIAL TO THE STAR plants, among others, have partici- helpful to know this ahead of time to
pated. prevent dangerous side effects from cardiovascular disease
Kimberly, 27, never thought she medication or find other drugs that
would be facing open-heart surgery The goal of the PMCC biobank is to may work better for a patient.” © 2015 Amgen Canada Ltd. All rights reserved.
at such a young age. But, last year, an establish biomarkers — a measur-
echocardiogram revealed a tear in able genetic substance that indicates Finding an effective treatment for
her aorta known as a Type A dis- the presence of disease — that may cardiomyopathy, a heart-muscle dis-
section, which has a mortality rate of help researchers understand how ease “that runs in families and can
1 per cent per hour in the first two heart disease progresses, how to cause sudden death,” would be an-
days without treatment after diagno- treat it and how to predict who may other example of a significant find-
sis. develop the disease in the future, ing, says Billia.
says Phyllis Billia, co-director of the
Kimberly (not her real name) was biobank. One of the most successful out-
immediately wheeled into an oper- comes of biobank screening is the
ating room at the Peter Munk Cardi- “If we know what causes these discovery of Herceptin, an antibody
ac Centre (PMCC). “I was crying and dissections, we can hopefully that targets cell receptors in certain
panicking,” says Kimberly, “but I target genes or molecules breast cancers. Researchers then de-
knew I would die without the sur- that can prevent or slow down veloped a drug using the Herceptin
gery.” the progression.” antibody that is now being used to
treat women with HER-2 positive
Kimberly has familial thoracic aor- DR. MARAL OUZOUNIAN breast cancers, which has increased
tic aneurysm and dissection, a genet- CARDIAC SURGEON survival rates.
ic mutation that runs in her mother’s
side of the family. Because the opera- “We hope to expand our blood sam- The hope is that the PMCC biobank
tion involved removing part of the ple collection to all patients who en- will yield therapeutic and drug dis-
aorta that was weakened by her ge- ter the centre with heart disease, not coveries for heart disease as well.
netic disease, her cardiac surgeon, just for surgery,” she explains.
Maral Ouzounian, was able to en- “If we know what causes these dis-
courage Kimberly to donate the tis- The ultimate goal is to personalize sections,” says Ouzounian, “we can
sue to the Peter Munk Cardiac Cen- care to each individual patient. hopefully target genes or molecules
tre Cardiovascular Biobank. While each sample collected is anon- that can prevent or slow down the
ymous, the sample will include the progression.”
“I did it to help people my age with a patient’s medical history detailing
similar genetic condition, my rela- medications, surgeries, routine Ultimately, she adds, the goal is to
tives and maybe someday, my kids,” blood tests and medical examina- help people like Kimberly avoid aor-
says Kimberly, who recently got tions. That way, the biobank will help tic surgery in the future.
married. researchers better understand varia-
tions in genes that may, for example, In Kimberly’s case, she would have
The biobank is a national, anony- predict which patient will be respon- likely faced sudden death if the echo-
mous, systematic and organized cardiogram hadn’t revealed her aor-
storage facility, which has been col- tic tear.
lecting and freezing tissue and blood
samples from surgical patients with “I had no symptoms, but I do know
heart disease for three years. To date, that my grandfather died suddenly.
2,000 individuals who have under- My mother has gone through two
similar surgeries in her lifetime. So I
know I was extremely fortunate to
have the outcome that I did.”

Laura Tumiati, left, a PMCC nurse receives a tissue sample from Dr. Maral Ouzounian.