'Exciting' new way to patch heart developed
Monday 9th May 2011
Researchers have developed a new way to patch a damaged heart that allows the tissue to repair itself thanks to a tissue-engineering platform.
Scientists from Columbia University were able to use human repair cells which were kept during in-vitro culture in order to heighten their ability to revascularize and improve blood flow to the infracted area.
In addition, they paired this with a biological composite scaffold which delivered the cells to the damaged heart, reports the paper published in journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
This method was found to keep the cells within the infarct bed and improve cell survival and function.
Study leader Dr Vunjak-Novakovic said: "We are very excited about this new technique.
"This platform is very adaptable and we believe it could be readily extended to the delivery of other types of human stem cells we are interested in to rebuild the heart muscle and further our research of the mechanisms underlying heart repair."
In other cardiac news, the outcome of an elective surgery undergone after a heart attack can be improved by increasing the period of time between the cardiovascular event and the operation, according to a study published in journal Annals of Surgery.
Written by Martin Lambert
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