黑料吃瓜群网

Researchers from The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have demonstrated that bio-engineered heart tissues could one day safely and effectively help patients recover from the damage caused by an extensive heart attack.

The findings, in mice, have been published in the academic journal .

The new technology creates personalised 鈥榖io-inks鈥� made of a patient鈥檚 own stem cells. The 鈥榖io-inks鈥� are then used to 3D-print cardiac tissues to repair areas of dead tissue caused by heart attacks.

鈥淭hanks to our study we have a better understanding of how bioengineered heart tissues work in the body after their transplantation,鈥� said Dr Carmine Gentile, head of the at UTS.

鈥淥ur study demonstrated that bio-engineered patches were the best and most robust treatment of heart failure 鈥� patches generated with other approaches either did not induce any improvement or the improvement was inconsistent.

鈥淥ur bio-engineered patches promise to be safer, more consistent and cost-effective for the patient.鈥�

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. In Australia, it accounts for about 鈥� claiming a life .

Heart failure is a frequent complication of heart disease, with inadequate blood supply resulting in the death of heart tissue in an affected area. Lifelong drug therapy may be required as a result, and end-stage heart failure means some patients join the waiting list for a heart transplant.

鈥淏ecause this technology will enable patients to use their own stem cells to create the heart 鈥榩atches鈥�, not only can they potentially dramatically reduce the trauma and cost of a heart transplant, but also avoid hurdles such as a body rejecting donor tissues,鈥� Gentile said.

Further testing for long-term effects of this technology is underway before clinical trials start.

, a key funding partner of the research, commended the advances made by Gentile and his research team in striving to improve the devastating statistics surrounding heart disease.

鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful to hear that this research partnership has proven to be successful and is now able to progress to the next stage. We are excited about the potential of this technology to help the hundreds of thousands of people affected by heart failure each year,鈥� said Nicci Dent, CEO Heart Research Australia.

Image credit: iStock.com/yodiyim