A technique has been tested in rats that could make the need for heart transplants obsolete, investigators at Victor Chang Research Institute reported on August 5 in a letter to Nature (1999;400:576-581).
Robert M. Graham and colleagues at the research institute and at the University of Sydney have developed a gene therapy technique that they believe could allow patients with heart failure to grow new heart muscle. The researchers told The Sydney Morning Herald that use of the technique in humans could occur as soon as two years from now, but much more testing is needed.
The authors were able to identify a gene that switches on the production of insulin-like growth factor-1 in the muscle cells of rats. "By applying laboratory-manufactured versions of the gene directly to muscle tissue, it is hoped the body can be 'tricked' into renewing muscle cells in the heart or to treat muscle diseases," The Sydney Morning Herald said on August 6. A potential use of the technique is to improve muscle mass in elderly patients who have developed muscle weakness as a result of aging, fractures, and inherited muscle disorders.
For Your Information:
Nature
www.nature.com
registration (free) requiredThe Sydney Morning Herald
www.smh.com.au/news/9908/06/text/pageone10.html
Please be aware that medical advice, diagnoses and physician references cannot be obtained from this site.