MIAMI – Researchers have created a special gel which might be used to assist repair damage caused by heart attacks.
Mice heart cells had been noticed nonetheless beating and swimming in a gel produced from stem cells on the University of Manchester in England. The heart cells had been wholesome, however researchers imagine the stem cell gel might be used to heal broken heart tissue following a heart assault.
“Once delivered to the heart, it stayed in the heart, and it remained there for two weeks,” stated Katharine King from the University of Manchester’s Institute for Cardiovascular Sciences.
The gel additionally retains the regenerating stem cells alive and functioning.
In the previous, surgeons have tried to repair heart tissue by injecting stem cells not encased in gel into the heart, however the cells haven’t survived.
“So, it’s looking like a very promising kind of, the way that it would stay there and be able to hold the cells there long enough for them to kind of integrate into the heart,” King stated.
The subsequent step for researchers will probably be to inject the stem cell gel into mice heart cells broken by a heart assault. If profitable, human trials may comply with.
“But in order to get into clinical studies, we have to ensure that the hydrogel itself is compatible with the human body, that the stem cells are produced in a way that is safe and reproducible. It will be a matter of years before this technology can get through into the clinic,” stated James Leiper from the British Heart Foundation.
Coronary heart illness is the main explanation for loss of life worldwide and within the United States.
Researchers say the easiest way to preserve a wholesome heart is to stop heart illness within the first place with a nutritious diet, train, stress administration, and avoiding all types of tobacco.
