No medical treatment has hitherto proved to be efficacious in slowing down valvular calcification, which further highlights the unmet medical needs in this disease. The project findings introduce a novel concept for therapeutic approaches of aortic valve stenosis, and in a broader context cardiovascular inflammation, that is focused on turning on resolution programs that may partly contribute to further palliate the incidence of the disease and the associated healthcare costs. This is particularly relevant in today’s society due to the increased life expectancy, as age is a major risk factor for aortic valve stenosis, as well as other cardiovascular and chronic inflammatory diseases, and thus their incidences are projected to rise significantly in the coming decades.
Identifying endogenous protective mechanisms to slow down the progression of aortic valve stenosis is novel and innovative. The implications of the findings from the present project are anticipated to go beyond aortic valve inflammation and calcification, since several other cardiovascular conditions may result from failed resolution, such as atherosclerosis. Turning on the resolution programs may hence emerge as a ground breaking novel therapeutic approach for cardiovascular prevention.