Never Give Up

An article published by Associated Press today left me dumbfounded. It reminded me to never, ever give up hope. You've GOT to read this article in its entirety (see summary below). See if you feel the same...

British girl's heart heals itself after transplant

Excerpted from Maria Cheng, Ap Medical Writer – Tue Jul 14, 12:40 am ET

In 1994, when Hannah Clark was eight months old, she developed severe heart failure and doctors put her on a waiting list to get a new heart. But Clark's heart difficulties caused problems with her lungs as well. To avoid a risky heart/lung transplant, doctors took a chance at a new and novel idea.

Sir Magdi Yacoub of Imperial College London thought that said that if Clark's heart was given a time-out, it might be able to recover on its own. So in 1995, Yacoub and others grafted a donor heart from a 5-month-old directly onto Clark's own heart. After four and a half years, both hearts were working fine, so Yacoub and colleagues decided not to take out the extra heart.

However, the powerful anti-rejection drugs Clark was taking caused cancer, which led to chemotherapy. Even when doctors lowered the doses of drugs to suppress Clark's immune system, the cancer spread, and Clark's body eventually rejected the donor heart.

In February 2006, doctors removed Clark's donor heart. Luckily, by that time, Clark's own heart seemed to have fully recovered. Since then, Clark — now 16 years old — has started playing sports, gotten a part-time job, and plans to go back to school in September.

At the moment, doctors aren't sure how that regeneration happens. Some think there are a small number of stem cells in the heart, which may somehow be triggered in crisis situations to heal damaged tissue.

Granted, Hannah's case is a rare and miraculous one, but it does give us a window of hope for the future!

Side note - even if this were to become an option for treatment in the future, there is a serious shortage of donor organs available for such transplants. Consider becoming an organ donor today, and asking your loved ones to do the same!

Great News: Scientists ID'd Heart Stem Cells!

Source: Constance Holden, ScienceNOW Daily News
2 July 2009

I was thrilled to read today that scientists have finally identified the cardiac stem cells that create all of the major cell types in the human heart. In recent years, scientists identified these cells in embryotic mice, but now a team at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston have found these same cells (that express the protein Islet 1) in humans. The team reports its work in Nature.

What does this mean? That researchers are one step closer to creating new cardiac stem cells in the heart's major cell types: heart muscle (cardiomyocytes), smooth muscle, and blood vessel lining (endothelium).

Chien, the researcher who made this astounding discovery, cautions that these primordial stem cells could not be used for therapy because they could develop into undesired cell types, but they could be used for disease modeling and drug screening and - most importantly to those of us affected by CHD - further research on congenital heart malformations. Chien speculates that CHD's "may be a stem cell disease" because Islet 1 cells are clustered in areas that are "hot spots" for heart defects.

The future I hope it holds for us? The possibility of growing human "heart parts" (such as strips of muscle or a valve) to assist CHD survivors.

Stem Cells: What Does it Mean for Us?

By now you've likely heard the news - Obama has lifted the ban on stem cell research, which will open the way for many new lines of embryonic stem cells. It's controversial to many, but what does it REALLY mean in terms of research and innovation for the creation of heart tissue?

First, let's clarify what, exactly, embryonic stem cells are. Human embryonic stem cells are our body's most versatile cells, possessing the potential to develop into any cell type in our bodies (with the exception of a placenta). Already such cells have been used to form heart tissues and valves. Embryonic stem cells are created during in vitro fertilization for persons with reproductive issues. Blastocysts are formed, from which the cells are harvested. The permission of the donors are given to donate these cells for research. Only 21 lines of these cells have been researched since 2001, due to a ban Bush placed on further research beyond the existing lines.

In a press release dated March 9, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) applauds President Barack Obama’s executive order, citing its potential to relieve suffering caused by diseases and conditions (including those caused by heart defects). The new policy allows scientists to utilize the many hundreds of valuable lines created since 2001, and relieves them from the substantial hurdles in duplicating equipment and other resources in order to separate privately- or state-funded stem cell research from federal government-funded efforts.

It's a hot topic most of us don't want to discuss in public. But it's a discussion we need to have. What do you think? Does the announcement restore the "integrity to the relationship between politics and science that has been traditional in the U.S.,” as asserted by Irving Weissman, President-Elect of the ISSCR? Would you be a willing recipient of the tissues and valves created in this manner?

Stem Cells May Help Repair Valve Defects!

Bloomberg Science, Nov. 10 -- Cardiologists at the University Hospital of Munich believe that umbilical cord blood, rich in stem cells, may bre the raw material needed to repair the hearts of thousands of children born each year with defective heart valves. The researchers reported the findings at the November 10 annual meeting of the American Heart Association. They believe they are 5 to 7 years away from transplanting new valves created from cord blood with patient's faulty valves.

The Munich researchers are ready to begin trials in lambs, using collected cells (frozen for preservation) to seed into biodegradable polymer scaffolds. Thus far, eight bio-engineered valves have acted much like natural heart valves when tested for blood flow and pressure. The scaffolds will disolve over time, leaving behind a fully formed structure made from the cells, they assert. The next step will be to transplant the heart valves into hearts of young lambs, watching them to see how they grow and function over time. The experiments are hoped to begin next year.

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