Scientists turn skin cells into beating heart muscle

[hue]

Source: Chicago Tribune

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have for the first time succeeded in taking skin cells from patients with heart failure and transforming them into healthy, beating heart tissue that could one day be used to treat the condition.

The researchers, based in Haifa,Israel, said there were still many years of testing and refining ahead. But the results meant they might eventually be able to reprogram patients' cells to repair their own damaged hearts.

"We have shown that it's possible to take skin cells from an elderly patient with advanced heart failure and end up with his own beating cells in a laboratory dish that are healthy and young - the equivalent to the stage of his heart cells when he was just born," said Lior Gepstein from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, who led the work.

The researchers, whose study was published in the European Heart Journal on Wednesday, said clinical trials of the technique could begin within 10 years.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-rt-us-heart-stemcellsbre84l1ek-20120522,0,4226539.story

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Awesome news!!!

[1monster]

1. I read about something about a research facility in Tamp about years ago using thigh

muscle and turning it into heart muscle that beat like heart tissue.

I remember because there was a woman on another message board (and this was before 2001 because it was before DU) who was in heart failure and I passed the information on to her in hopes that she could get into testing.

I never heard more about it...

[SirRevolutionary]

2. Part of me gets very excited reading about research like this

and then my cynical part envisions mankind plagued with eternal Cheney clones who get a free pass with the health insurance companies while the rest of us can't afford to extend our lives.

[Politicalboi]

3. Who knows,

Cheney could be the lab rat.

[hue]

5. That's an insult to lab rats!!!

[wordpix]

6. I'm with you about the excitement except for elderly people with Alzheimer's, i.e.

the longer people live, the more likely it is they get Alzheimer's and other types of debilitating dementia. This is the downside of living long lives. My mother who now has advanced Alzheimer's at 87 did not have memory problems until 82. Now she needs round the clock care that is terribly expensive, she can barely walk, cannot do what she used to do including converse, cannot use the toilet herself, is out of her mind most of the time, and she's not living a good life but she's living.

It's great that younger or middle-aged people can get a new heart this way but for the elderly...I really question prolonging life since the brain deteriorates and right now, there's nothing we can do about it.

And now my mom's friend, age 86, has just been diagnosed with dementia.

[hue]

4. The most important aspect of this is getting rid of corrupt transplant networks

in which, for example, political prisoners in China are typed, cross matched & screened so their organs can be sold.

[Zoeisright]

7. Notice how this is not happening in the United States.

Those damned repukes have completely messed up scientific research in this country.

[valerief]

8. That'll help rich people. Poor people will still be sent to war, sold tainted, unregulated food,

and denied minimal health care and shelter.

[yellowcanine]

9. So wearing your heart on your sleeve could be more than just a metaphor?

[Evasporque]

10. that makes me throb all over....nt

[donquijoterocket]

11. I'm waiting

for the first anti-science wingnut to claim this proves it's adult stem cell research we should be pursuing rather than fetal stem cells, but I'd almost wager that the knowledge gained from fetal stem cell research made this breakthrough possible. I've never disagreed with pursuing adult cell research but always wondered about the wisdom of shutting down another potentially valuable line of investigation.
Regardless I'm pleased to see this discovery made and figure it's one more small step on the road to whipping all the major killers and debilitaters of humans.