Human Heart Valves Grown Using Stem Cells (11/21/2006)
Dr. Simon Hoerstrup of the University of Zurich has announced that he and his team have developed a method for
growing new heart valves in a laboratory.
The process starts by extracting amniotic fluid from an pregnant mother's womb during amniocentesis, a common
prenatal test used to check for birth defects. Fetal stems cells were isolated from the fluid, and were grown
in a petri dish culture. Once enough fetal stem cells were grown, they were placed on a mold shaped like an
ink pen that was made out of biodegradable plastic.
In all, 12 valves were created in the experiment. It took four to six weeks to grow each heart valve.
The researchers said laboratory tests indicated that the valves appeared to function normally.
So far the scientists haven't tried to implant the valves into anyone. Dr. Hoerstrup intends to continue his
study and start animal testing on sheep.
Japanese scientists have grown heart valves using tissue from rabbits. Also Dr. John E. Mayer Jr., with a Children’s
Hospital Boston grew heart valves from stem cells harvested from sheep bone marrow which appeared to
function normally when implanted in sheep.
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Comments:
| 1. |
MichaelQuain |
2/20/2007 9:47:04 PM MST |
Dear Sir
I suffer from a leaking aortic valve and have suggested to my cardiologist that stem cells would be far superior to pig valves or artifical valves which require a lifetime of blood thinning with worphin,. I wonder when stem cells valves will be implanted in human beings
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