New gene therapy for dogs with sick hearts

What's the news: A new gene therapy-based treatment slowed the onset of heart disease in dogs by 800 days.

Why should we believe it: This news was announced last week at the 26th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy. The underlying research was performed by scientists at Rejuvenate Bio, a biotech company that spun off from the lab of Harvard genetics professor George Church.

The Rejuvenate Bio scientists developed a new gene therapy to target myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD), the most common heart disease in dogs. The scientists combined their gene therapy with pimobendan, a dog heart drug, in 12 King Charles spaniels, which have one of the highest rates of MMVD. And the results:

• Compared to placebo, the combination of the gene therapy and pimobendan slowed the onset of MMVD by 800 days

• Compared to pimobendan alone, the gene therapy slowed onset by 600 days

Why this is a big deal: This new therapy is great news for dogs, and as a Youthspan Hound, I don't need other reason to be excited.

But as I've written previously, there's good reason to hope that dog research will translate to humans also. The fact this news comes from the lab of the genius Dr. George Church, one of the leading minds of longevity science, only makes it additionally exciting.