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Bioreactors Engineer Tissue To Mend Heart Damage
Hugh Pickens writes "Heart attacks usually cause irreversible damage to heart muscle and, because cells lost from the heart do not grow back naturally, leave the organ in a weakened and vulnerable state that may cause another serious condition — called heart failure — if the victim survives. Now a team of scientists led by Tal Dvir from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva has developed a tissue-engineering technique, using the body as a 'bioreactor,' to create a 'patch' made from heart muscle that can be used to fix scarring left over from a heart attack. First, a biodegradable 'scaffold' is seeded with immature cells taken from the hearts of newborn rats. For 48 hours, the scaffold is exposed to a cocktail of growth-promoting chemicals in the laboratory and is then transplanted into a rat's abdomen where it develops a network of blood vessels and muscle fibers. After seven days the patch is removed and grafted onto the animal's heart. A month later the patch has completely integrated itself into the heart, synchronizing its 'beat' with that of the surrounding tissue. 'Using the body as a bioreactor to engineer cardiac tissue with stable and functional blood vessel networks represents a significant improvement in cardiac patch performance over ex vivo (outside the body) methods currently used for patch production,' write the authors. The technique is also being developed for livers and bladders."
Now we just need a supply of newborn humans to take heart cells from, and we'll be able to apply the same technique :D
Tsunami -- You can't bring a good wave down!
...in Israel?
This research was done in Israel, a country that has (*gasp*) nationalized health care.
"First, a biodegradable 'scaffold' is seeded with immature cells taken from the hearts of newborn rats."
Next, moisten the scaffolding with the tears of orphaned fur seal cubs. Add the growth media consisting of ground up puppy bones and in 3 or 4 weeks, you will see the first growth in your heart patch.
Unfortunately, this technique seems inadequate to patch my empty heart. No matter how many times I try.
Wow, about as insightful as the deathpanel nonsense.
First off...what? Research isn't driven by insurance companies, so I'm having a hard time understanding how that would remove incentives of any type. With nationalized healthcare are people going to still have heart attacks? Yes. Are people going to pay a lot of money for this to recover from a heart attack? Yes. Are people going to fund research like this? Obviously. I'm not seeing anything to suggest that our health insurance industry is responsible for any innovation besides the new ways of denying coverage they find. I realize I'm not an expert in the insurance field, so I'm willing to listen to your evidence as to how researchers in Israel (which APPEARS TO HAVE NATIONALIZED HEALTHCARE) are funded by our healthcare system.
You seem to be suffering from the notion that the only reason researchers, doctors, and scientists come up with stuff is to make a boatload of money. That's absurd. That is a motivating factor for some researchers. Definitely not all, and definitely not most. Maybe that's why most medical doctors get into the biz, but as a scientist currently earning less than I would on unemployment... no. Just no. Even if it weren't for the money, there'd still be the accolades (beyond /. of course), the respect, the research grants, the good feeling that comes from coming up with something that saves lives, and the satisfaction that comes from discovery, to drive them on.
Hell, I'm a grad student, so I am proof the accolades, money, respect, grants, and good feelings of any type are even dispensable: some of us do it because we're masochists.
Another new technology! Hope it's not so expensive that my insurance company will deny it to me. Or my government, if that's how the tail swings. In fact, maybe I'll just go sit under a tree and die. It will be more romantic. Romantic in the artistic sense, which is the kind all slashdotters can relate to.
Qxe4
Israel doesn't quite have "Nationalized health care" in the way you're claiming.
Israel's system is much closer to the Massachusetts system whereby insurance is compulsory, but multiple organizations still compete for members (they each get a percentage of the national fund equal to their registered percentage of population). Organizational differences (most notably, that the free "minimum care" package provided to all Israelis is not nearly as comprehensive as what Massachusetts demands as a minimum-coverage standard, and most Israelis wind up purchasing "supplemental packages" at increased expense) account for why Israel's system is not failing, whereas Massachusetts's model has gone deeply into the red.
If your heart is broken by a blonde you're not a geek!
A real geek's heart breaks when his water-cooling system breaks ...
A blonde broke my water cooling system, you insensitive clod.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
...three times fast:
Tal Dvir from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva
Tal Dvir from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva
Tal Dvir from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva
Blarrrrrurrrurrr. Uck!