( but less advanced forms of heart fail...)Mechanical 'artificial hearts' can remove need for heart transplant by returning heart to normal

"The study also highlights the fact that 'end stage' heart failure can be reversed and that the heart has the capacity to regenerate itself. It therefore stimulates the search for other strategies and more therapeutic targets in this expanding field of regenerative therapy," he added.

LVADs are currently mainly used in those patients awaiting heart transplant, whose heart failure is very severe. The researchers are hopeful that the technique used in this study could also be used to restore heart function amongst heart patients who are not awaiting transplants.

LVADs work by being connected to the left ventricle of the heart, either directly or by a tube. They remove oxygen rich blood from the left ventricle and take the blood to a mechanical pump. The mechanical pump then pumps the oxygen rich blood into another tube which is connected to the aorta. Once blood is in the aorta, it can be transported to the rest of the body.

Patients were treated with drugs which encourage reverse remodelling of the heart, prevent atrophy and prevent the heart from shrinking beyond its desirable size. The drugs used were lisinopril, carvedilol, spironolactone and losartan in the first stage of treatment and bisoprolol and clenbuterol in the second.

The next step for the researchers is a larger multi-centre trial named the Harefield Recovery Protocol (HARP) study, which is envisaged to start soon on both sides of the atlantic. The researchers are also continuing their molecular and cellular research and studying the mechanistic and therapeutic targets which have made the recovery observed in this study possible.
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Source:Imperial College London