NEWS

Regeneration following a heart attack

A group of researchers have recently come across a way to repair damaged heart muscles following a heart attack

As global health education levels have increased, more than 90 per cent of people hospitalised with a myocardial infarction survive the heart attack. This is primarily due to recognising the symptoms, getting immediate treatment and awareness of preventions through lifestyle changes.

However, the weakening of the heart leads to related deaths in the years following the attack. Those who experience a heart attack over the age of 65 only have a 35 per cent chance of surviving the following eight years.

The most common cause of heart attacks is coronary artery disease, where the arteries become narrowed due to a build up of fatty deposits which in turn can cause blood clots to block the artery. The damage incurred by the heart muscle is unable to regenerate and never fully repairs, it is instead replaced by scar tissue.

Researchers in the Weizmann Institute of Science Molecular Cell Biology Department have identified a protein which, when expressed, leads to the regeneration of cells by reversing cell growth through dedi erentiation. Tests carried out by Dr Avraham Shakked have shown that the damaged cells are able to retain a level of healing capacity when exposed to the specific protein sequence.

“Perhaps the most exciting is the cardioprotective e ect of this whole sequence of events that we weren’t really expecting to find or see at all, and actually that has the most potential impact,” says Dr Avraham.

The team are continuing their research to develop an accessible and e ective treatment.