Heart valves that grow with the patient(sing tissue engineering so that only its...)

Date:10/21/2008

sing tissue engineering, so that only its outer framework remains. This valve matrix is then colonised with cells that have been obtained from the blood of the recipient and propagated. Within a few weeks, a quasi-natural heart valve then emerges in this bioreactor, that exhibits no rejection response or other faults, but instead grows with the patient after the implantation.

The foundation for this innovation in medicine and medical technology was laid in 1995. In that year the then 42-year old Haverich was honoured by the DFG with Germany's most prestigious research prize, the Leibniz Prize, for his groundbreaking scientific work in the area of transplant medicine. One year later Haverich used the prize money of three million German marks at that time to found the Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO) at Hannover Medical School. The first major project of the new establishment was the development of "grown" heart valves. After six years of development work and experiments on small and large animals, in May 2002 Haverich was able to implant the first decellularised and re-colonised heart valves into two children of nine and ten years of age. Since then 16 children have been successfully operated on. The first two patients have now been living with their new cardiac valves for over six years free of illness and comparable with healthy children in terms of their physical development.

Haverich and his colleagues have documented the scientific bases of their new treatment in great detail in numerous publications. A series of patents and the establishment of two companies also testify to the strong market potential of their innovation. This should grow considerably further if such heart valves can also be implanted in adults, a declared aim for Haverich. His work has since received further impetus from the Excellence Initiative by the German federal and state governments, which is funding the excellence cluster
'/>"/>

Contact: Dr. Eva-Maria Streier em.streier@dfg.de 49-228-885-2250 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Source:Eurekalert

0 GOOD

Page: 1 2 3 4
Related biology news :

1. Drug-embedded microparticles bolster heart function in animal studies
2. Repair in the developing heart
3. Embryonic heart exhibits impressive regenerative capacity
4. Study provides insight on a common heart rhythm disorder
5. LIAI launches new division to look at novel approaches to heart disease and inflammation
6. Argonne scientists peer into heart of compound that may detect chemical, biological weapons
7. Researchers study how pistachios may improve heart health
8. NIH awards Clemson bioengineer $1.5 million to improve durability of tissue heart valves
9. Dark chocolate: Half a bar per week to keep at bay the risk of heart attack
10. 2 beta blockers found to also protect heart tissue
11. Human embryonic stem cell secretions minimized tissue injury after heart attack