Breakthrough Study Reveals Artificial Hearts Can Revitalize Heart Muscles, Offering Hope for Heart Failure Treatment
New Delhi: A recent study has shown that artificial hearts can help some individuals regenerate heart muscle tissue, a breakthrough that could pave the way for new treatments and possibly even a cure for heart failure in the future.
Currently, there is no cure for heart failure. Treatments for advanced heart failure typically involve transplants and pump replacements through artificial hearts. Known as left ventricular assist devices, these artificial hearts can help the heart pump blood more effectively.
Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in the United States explained that “skeletal muscles have significant regenerative potential after injury.” The study began with tissue samples from patients with artificial hearts. The research team, including scientists from Sweden and Germany, utilized an innovative carbon dating method to determine whether the samples contained newly formed cells.
Published in the journal Circulation, the findings revealed that individuals with artificial hearts can regenerate muscle cells at more than six times the rate of healthy hearts.
Dr. Hesham Sadek, Director at the Sarver Heart Center in Tucson, stated, “This is the strongest evidence we have to date that human heart muscle cells can indeed regenerate. This is truly exciting, as it reinforces the idea that the human heart has an inherent capacity for regeneration.”
The research indicated that some patients with artificial hearts could have their devices removed as their symptoms improve. This could occur if the artificial heart gives the cardiac muscles a rest period comparable to bed rest for someone recovering from a football injury.
Sadek noted, the findings suggest it might be possible to target the molecular pathways involved in cell division to enhance the heart’s regenerative capacity.
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