!!Stephan Baldus - Biography
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Early in his academic career Stephan Baldus was offered a scholarship by the German Max Planck society and the German Heart Foundation to attend at the lab of Bruce Freeman, Center for Free Radical Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham in the USA. Between 1999 and 2001 he systematically developed a deeper understanding of mechanisms underlying the pro- and vasoconstrictive properties of leukocyte derived peroxidases, in a particular myeloperoxidase (MPO).\\
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Together with Jason Eiserich he made the critical observation that MPO catalyzes nitric oxide (NO) and revealed the binding of the enzyme towards the endothelium, which was followed by transcytosis of MPO to the basolateral surface of these cells in the vessel wall. Here MPO oxidizes NO and thus impairs vascular function. \\
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Upon his return to Germany he elaborated on these basic observations and reported that patients with acute coronary syndromes and elevated levels of MPO in the early phase of the evolving myocardial infarction, with MPO being a predictor of a worse outcome. He further identifies that MPO has also extra-catalytic functions, e.g. by activating neutrophils in a CD11b integrin depended manner. He also identified that MPO can serve as a biomarker of heart failure and was able to show that MPO derived fibrosis in the atria can propagate atrial fibrillation.\\
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Following up on the observation that MPO is elevated in patients with heart failure he finally reported that MPO indeed can impair vascular function in an animal model of systolic heart failure whereas inhibition of MPO using pharmacological inhibitors prevented the deterioration of ventricular function. Translational and early clinical studies using these inhibitors in patients with systolic as well as diastolic heart failure are ongoing.\\
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Stephan Baldus also helped to define the clinical role of transcatheter treatment of secondary mitral regurgitation (MR), a common disease in patients with systolic heart failure. In systolic heart failure, the existence of secondary MR is a predictor of worse outcome and transcatheter treatment, I particular edge-to-edge-repair of the valve`s evolved as a potential alternative to surgery in patients with advanced disease. Together with Olaf Franzen he was the first who introduced this technique in Europe and helped to disseminate this technique in Germany. In a recent publication he summarized together with colleagues safety and efficacy of edge-to-edge-repair as compared to surgery and found that transcatheter repair is not inferior to surgery in this regard but provides a sufficient better safety profile in these patients.\\ \\[{ALLOW view All}][{ALLOW edit sbaldus}][{ALLOW upload sbaldus}][{ALLOW comment All}]