Prof Annette Graham's team has previously identified a protein which can help cut arterial fat deposits andnow wants to identify a compound which will boost levels of the protein, or make what is there more effective.

According to Scottish government statistics, coronary heart disease is Scotland's second biggest killer, responsible for 15% of all deaths. Coronary artery disease is caused by the accumulation of the so-called bad LDL cholesterol within fatty deposits on artery walls. The presence of so-called good HDL cholesterol in the bloodstream can help the body reverse these damaging deposits, reducing the risk of coronary heart disease.

Prof Graham's team now aims to test a number of compounds which it believes will help the body remove the fatty deposits which form as "plaque" on artery walls and can lead to angina and heart attacks.

'Effective treatments'
Statin drugs, which lower the amount of cholesterol in the blood stream, are widely available but there is no drug available which can reverse "plaque" build-up.

Prof Graham said: "We urgently need effective treatments which can reverse the build-up of fatty substances in the arteries.One of the compounds we will test is a drug already in development for the treatment of anxiety. Early clinical trials did not produce any unwanted side effects or withdrawal symptoms, which is encouraging."

Prof Graham's team will study cells loaded with "bad" cholesterol, known as foam cells, in tissue culture dishes in the laboratory and aims to identify the chemicals most effective at enhancing cholesterol removal.

GENETIC Y CHROMOSONE: HAPLOGROUP 
The paper published in The Lancet hows that the Y chromosome, a part of DNA present only in men, plays a role in the inheritance of coronary artery disease (CAD). The study Inheritance of coronary artery disease in men: an analysis of the role of the Y chromosome, was led by researchers at the University's Department of Cardiovascular Sciences and Department of Genetics, took four years to complete and was primarily funded by the British Heart Foundation.

It was also supported by the National Institute for Health Research, LEW Cart Charitable Fund, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, the European Union, and the Wellcome Trust.

Coronary artery disease is the name given to the narrowing of blood vessels delivering blood to the heart, meaning that not enough oxygen can reach it. This can lead to angina symptoms, such as constriction of the chest, and heart attacks.

The British Heart Foundation found that coronary artery disease, also known as coronary heart disease, caused 88,236 deaths in 2008 in the United Kingdom, with 49,665 deaths among men and 38,571 among women.

The team at the University of Leicester analysed DNA from over 3,000 men from British Heart Foundation Family Heart Study (BHF-FHS) and the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study (WOSCOPS).
They found that 90% of British Y chromosomes belong to one of two major groups – namely haplogroup I (above left) or haplogroup R1b1b2 (below right). 

The risk of coronary artery disease among men who carry a Y chromosome from haplogroup I (above left) is 50% higher than other men, and the risk independent of traditional risk factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking.

Researchers believe increased risk is down to the haplogroup I's influence on the immune system and inflammation, how our bodies respond to infection.

Principal investigator Dr Maciej Tomaszewski, (below left) a clinical senior lecturer at the University's Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, said: “We are very excited about these findings as they put the Y chromosome on the map of genetic susceptibility to coronary artery disease.

"We wish to further analyse the human Y chromosome to find specific genes and variants that drive this association. The major novelty of these findings is that the human Y chromosome appears to play a role in the cardiovascular system beyond its traditionally perceived determination of male sex.