Thursday, June 16, 2011

Drugs Able to Make Your Own Heart Heal


Damage to heart muscle caused by a heart attack have long been regarded as something that will happen permanently. However, the scientists managed to create a drug that can make your own repair heart damage.
Drugs that awaited the newly tested on mice in the laboratory and successfully. Drugs called thymosin beta 4

 

by the British Heart Foundation is considered a miracle in heart disease research. Nevertheless, it still needed a few more years before the drug can be used humans.


The team of scientists from University College London, England, doing research on groups of cells capable of transforming themselves into the type of cardiac tissue in the embryo. However, in adults, epicardium-derived progenitor cells become inactive or asleep. Scientists then use chemicals thymosin beta 4 for the wake of these cells.


"Cells epicardial which fortifies the heart muscle can be activated and form new heart muscle. We see the improvement and the ability of the heart to pump blood up 25 percent," said Professor Paul Riley of University College London.


As is known, heart attack will make the muscle tissue deprived of oxygen and damaged or dead. If blood flow can be restored, the heart damage can be limited.


"The more blood that is pumped, scar tissue in the heart can be reduced and the heart wall becomes thicker," he explained.


If the drug is also effective in humans later, millions of lives could be saved heart attack patients. The drug is still investigational and an estimated 10 years away can be tried in humans.


Sources: BBC

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