Cardiology Research and Production Complex, Moscow

homepage: http://www.cardioweb.ru/
Russian Cardiology Research and Production Complex (RCRPC) is the leading cardiology institution in Russia which renders high-quality cardiac care. This dynamic organization is a Federal State Institution which is affiliated with the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. RCRPC coordinates a number of Institutions, which specialize on clinical and basic research, development of new diagnosis and treatment methods, as well as experimental drug manufacture. This enables RCRPC to maintain its status of the leading national medical scientific and research entity in both applied and fundamental cardiology.
RCRPC has participated in the development of new strategies targeting cardiovascular disease diagnostics and treatment including coronary heart disease and comorbidities aggravating heart failure such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus and obesity. As a specialized therapeutic and preventive medical institution, RCRPC also offers high quality clinical care to patients with the most severe and complicated cardiovascular diseases from Moscow and various regions of the Russian Federation. At the moment, RCRPC encompasses the Institute of Clinical Cardiology, Institute of Experimental Cardiology and Experimental Plant for Production of Biomedical Drugs.
All these divisions are fully equipped with high-tech medical and research equipment which is operated by the team of well-trained professionals. For example, staff of the Institute of Experimental Cardiology comprises highly qualified specialists in the fields of biochemistry, molecular biology, physiology, cell biology, immunology, molecular genetics, as well as experts in the field of genetic engineering, pharmacists, biotechnologists, chemists, physicists and programmers. RCRPC staff include 6 members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 9 members of the Russian Academy of Medical Science, 71 doctors of science and 217 MDs/PhDs, which possess extensive expertise in design, execution and administering of large-scale multi-site research projects. During the past 15 years, several of RCRPC research projects received grants from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, President of the Russian Federation, INTAS, CRDF, Wellcome Trust as well as the Federal Agency of Science and Innovations. According to Prof. Eugene Chasov, the general manager of RCRPC, more than 6,000 patients receive treatment in 8 departments of the Institute of Clinical Cardiology and 20,000 patients receive specialized treatment in the Outpatient department on an annual basis. Annually, RCRPC staff perform over 500 coronary artery bypass surgeries and complex combined procedures on blood vessels and valves of the heart in addition to over 1,000 endovascular interventions on affected coronary arteries and endocardial interventions on arrhythmias.
The Institute of Experimental Cardiology conducts studies on new medicine development and basic research. Key topics of research include:
• Biology of the vascular wall and role of its molecular cell components in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis;
• Physiology of the cardiovascular system in healthy condition and pathology;
• Physiological aspects of new cardiotropic drugs’ creation;
• Biological and cellular mechanisms of division, differentiation and regulation of vascular wall and heart cells;
• Development of molecular genetics and biotechnology techniques.
Laboratory of Angiogenesis which is lead by Prof. Yelena Parfyonova, MD, DSc, has recently focused on gene and cell therapy for ischemic disease and has participated in development of novel plasmid drugs encoding urokinase or vascular endothelial growth factor for limb ischemia treatment. Cell therapy studies include isolation and cultivation of mesenchymal stem cells from various sources - such as bone marrow, adipose tissue and Warton’s jelly - and their further application in treatment of myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease and heart failure.
Since RCRPC prioritizes scientific networking, it focuses on participating in international projects and joint studies carried out by various Russian Institutes and academia. Recently completed international projects include FP7 HF-SICA project concerning studies on comorbidity in heart failure and the Russia-Taiwan grant provided by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research for conducting project on tissue engineering and application of adipose-derived stromal cells in ischemia treatment.