SYDNEY, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Australian researchers have discovered that a natural fat molecule could serve as a treatment for diabetes-induced heart disease.

In a new study published in Cardiovascular Diabetology on Wednesday, a team from Monash University in Melbourne found that the fat molecule lipoxin A4 (LXA4) can significantly reduce inflammation, and improve function of diabetic hearts.

Heart failure and heart attacks are among the leading killers of people with diabetes.

Chengxue Helena Qin, senior author of the new research from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, said the team's findings show that LXA4 could be used to treat diabetic heart disease.

"We found that LXA4 could halve inflammation and scar formation, specifically in cases of heart disease induced by diabetes," she said in a media release on Thursday.

"With recent advancements in developing more 'drug-like' LXA4, our findings point to the potential of LXA4-based therapies as a promising new way to manage diabetic heart disease," she said.

Previous studies have shown that LXA4 can prevent chronic inflammation and reduce diabetes-induced atherosclerosis, a chronic disease caused by the build-up of plaque in arteries, but its impact on diabetic hearts had never been studied.

For the study, two groups of mice with type-1 diabetes were administered either LXA4 or a control substance twice per week over six weeks.

The research team found that the hearts of the control group exhibited increased inflammation while those of the group treated with LXA4 had reduced inflammation and improved cardiac function.

The team was now working to create a stable drug based on the LXA4 molecule and exploring the applicability of their findings to other inflammatory diseases. Enditem

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