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Last update - 16:38 26/08/2009
Israeli researchers make dramatic breakthrough in treating heart disease
By Dan Even, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: medical research, israel news 

Israeli researchers have made a dramatic breakthrough in treating heart disease, growing heart muscle in rats' abdomens and using it to patch the hearts of rats that suffered heart attacks.

The experiment, whose results were published this week in an American journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to demonstrate the possibility of rejuvenating the heart after a heart attack. While many researchers have tried to develop heart patches, until now, none of the tissue patches have survived implantation into the heart.

The Israeli researchers were led by Dr. Tal Dvir, who developed the new method for his Ph.D. thesis at Ben-Gurion University and is now at MIT. The researchers planted cardiac cells taken from newborn rats on a laboratory "scaffold" and seeded them with growth agents. Once the cells had grown sufficiently, the entire scaffold was implanted in the rat's abdomen, where the tissue continued to grow and developed a network of blood vessels. A week later, the new tissue was removed from the abdomen and transplanted into the damaged heart.
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After 28 days, the blood vessels in the patch had linked up with the damaged heart's own blood vessels. This, Dvir said, prevented it from dying of lack of oxygen, as previous bioengineered patches have.

Moreover, the patch appeared to actually improve the damaged heart. A heart attack leaves a scar that usually tightens over time and exerts pressure on the heart wall, which often leads to another heart attack. The tissue patch prevented this deterioration.

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      1.   All You Boycotters Take Note 04:44  |  A NIce Fellow 26/08/09
      2.   Israel bashers should boycott this 05:13  |  judith 26/08/09
      3.   Treating damaged heart 07:43  |  Inna 26/08/09
      4.   BOYCOTT Divest---- ?? Like the usual mouths 09:54  |  PETER SM 26/08/09
      5.   Comment on #1 Boycott 10:41  |  Joe 26/08/09
      6.   Israel Boycotters 11:49  |  Talya 26/08/09
      7.   International inquiry is needed 12:02  |  Naftush 26/08/09
      8.   # 1,2 13:14  |  Axel 26/08/09
      9.   Arab researchers make dramatic breakthrough in 14:30  |  Michael Steiner 26/08/09
      10.   Too bad Israeli science not better funded 15:45  |  Serge 26/08/09
      11.   Three more remarks to you boycott experts 16:34  |  Axel 26/08/09
      12.   #5 Axel misses the joke 16:49  |  John 26/08/09
      13.   Boycotters should be steadfast 09:52  |  Mike in Berlin 27/08/09
      14.   Axel (#8) In contrast to some people 16:38  |  Gil 27/08/09
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