The two major hurdles that needed to be tackled are becoming a reality…

…via Science Daily- solve two problems in the development of a stem cell heart patch. The first is undesirable side effects, such as arrhythmia, that can result from immature and undeveloped cardiomyocytes being introduced to the heart. The second is the need for a scaffold that is biocompatible with the heart and able to hold the new cardiomyocytes in place while they integrate into the existing heart tissue. Matching the material to human heart muscle is also hoped to prevent deterioration of heart function before the cells take over.

Are you following me on this one? The current researchers are now understanding how stem cell-derived developing heart cells can be matured in the laboratory and how materials could be synthesized to form a patch to deliver them to damaged areas of the heart. Seriously exciting news. More has to be done and many more hours and months and years of hard work is yet to come, but just think for a second… Would you be willing to give this a try, even in its experimental stage?

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Major Advancement For Stem Cells And Heart Repair

We all know that smoking cigarettes increases your risk for heart disease, right? Then why don’t more people quit? Well duh, it is an addiction after all so that makes it more than tough. Researchers have found that the individual differences in brain chemistry can have a profound effect on a person’s susceptibility to addiction, and smoking may predispose adolescents to mental disorders in adolescence and adulthood such as affective disorders like depression. It is a vicious cycle!

Another risk factor in heart disease… obesity. Scientists can now measure how full or hungry a mouse feels, thanks to a new technique which uses imaging to reveal how neurons behave in the part of the brain which regulates appetite. Wouldn’t it be swell if we could figure out how to turn that food craving thing off in our heads? I know I would be happy. I am feeling over the top hungry lately and am trying to steer as far away from the kitchen as possible, that’s for sure!

And finally we may just figure out that whole paradox of resuscitation and restored blood flow and heart function and dying heart tissue! That would be very exciting. Using chemical probes and a novel technique called dual-wavelengths excitation spectrophotofluorometry, the Scientists saw that after the mitochrondria were subjected to ischemia followed by reoxygenation, a boost of calcium occurred in the mitochondria. So they went with it to further uncover the specifics.

Post from: Blisstree

Hearty Health Links On This Fine Sunday…

Shortly after consumption, your systolic rate increases by over 7.5% and diastolic raises 7% and heart rate is up 7-10 beats per minute. And why is this? Here ya go…

Most energy drinks contain high levels of caffeine and taurine, an amino acid also found in protein-containing foods such as meats and fish. Both have had effects on heart function and blood pressure in some studies. In contrast, “sports drinks” in general contain various mixtures of water, sugars and salts alone, without chemicals aimed at increasing “energy” or alertness.

The study also concluded that the effectiveness of medication could also be decreased. That’s not good! Don’t even get me started on the whole Red Bull and Vodka thing! Haha.

via Science Daily

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Popular Energy Drinks Like Red Bull Can Cause Cardiac Complications

The Cancion System, manufactured by Orqis Medical Corp., is a pump device that is introduced into the body via catheters inserted through tiny incisions in the groin. Once placed, the pump draws blood from the patient’s iliac artery – located in the pelvis – into a small external pump. From there, the blood goes through another catheter placed in the heart’s descending aorta, where it is re-introduced for continuous blood flow.

Thus it will improve heart function, ie. muscle function, without replacing the heart or most of it’s parts. Much less invasive and less risky then a transplant. This will hopefully give chronic heart failure patients a longer amount of time outside the hospital and a more “normal” style life.

What do you think? Would you be willing to be a part of a study like this? Are you as excited as me over the prospects of this type of system improving cardiac patients quality of life?

Post from: Blisstree

A New Device To Treat Patient’s With Chronic Congestive Heart Failure

“Normally, adult human hearts do not regenerate because the heart doesn’t make more cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) after injury,” explained lead researcher Dr. Bernhard Kuhn, from the Department of Cardiology at Children’s Hospital Boston. “It would be desirable to induce the heart to make new cardiomyocytes after injury.”

Major advantage to this type of therapy…

The advantage of this technique is that it doesn’t require new cells, such as stem cells, to coax the growth of new heart cells. Stem cells might also migrate to other parts of the body, with unknown consequences, Kuhn said. The patch is “also not gene-based, so it’s not gene therapy,” he said.

I will keep you posted!

via Forbes.com 

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“Patch” Helps The Heart Grow New Cells