Man-made heart tissue improves heart function

	Tweet

Researchers have developed a method to engineer blood vessels within the tissue of previously engineered heart muscle. Trials have resulted in significant improvement in heart function.

The study is published in the journal Artificial Organs.

With heart disorders affecting individuals globally and contributing to increasing mortality rates, there has been a need to develop new treatment options. One of the specific challenges in the field of tissue engineering is to produce blood vessels within heart muscle tissue. In this study, the researchers were successful in this task. Their live models showed significant improvement in heart function, particularly in the amount of vascularization throughout the implanted sections. Further, the tissue engineered construct remained viable even after the three-week implantation period, maintaining cardiac specific function.

"The long-term goal of cardiac tissue engineering is to generate functional cardiac muscle in vitro,” states lead researcher, Ravi K. Birla. “Work in this area would lead to the formation of functional heart muscle that can someday help patients with acute heart failure.”

Tissue-engineered heart muscle can be used to treat cases of myocardial infarction and to repair congenital heart defects, as well as in the use of drug development to provide insight into cardiac developmental biology.

http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/aor

RELATED STORIES:
Scientists turn skin cells into beating heart muscle   Too many people get angioplasties, study suggests   New Blood Thinner May Lower Chances of Clots in High-Risk Heart Patients: FDA   Heart Damage After Chemo Linked to Stress in Cardiac Cells   What’s good or bad for the heart, may be the same for the brain   Warfarin in Heart Failure   Increased Sudden Cardiac Death Rate Among HIV Patients   Air pollution level changes in Beijing linked with biomarkers of cardiovascular disease   Lack of basic evidence hampering prevention of sudden heart attacks in sport   Blacks Less Likely to Get Help on Scene After Cardiac Arrest: Study   Heart attack patients taken to PCI hospitals first treated faster   Cameron Health’s under-skin ICD safe, effective

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]