READ: Hope for heart failure patients as 'pioneering' treatment helps the organ to heal ITSELF

A revolutionary treatment whereby the heart is encouraged to heal itself after a heart attack is being developed by scientists.

They believe it could help millions around the world living with a condition whereby their heart has been severely weakened, for which there is currently no cure.

Scientists at Oxford University and University College London have discovered that the heart can be prompted to repair itself naturally if given the right trigger.

They have also worked out how to speed-up and enhance this natural process through the use of a protein, which they hope will pave the way for new drugs.

Continue reading after the cut....


The academics have described their findings as an 'exciting new step' which could eventually be used to treat heart failure.

This is usually caused by a heart attack and occurs when the heart gradually becomes too weak to pump blood around the body.

Sadly three quarters of patients die within five years of being diagnosed as there are very few treatments or procedures which can halt the damage.

But in experiments in the lab the scientists discovered that the heart begins to heal itself naturally following a heart attack and grows new lymphatic vessels.

These transport dead cells and bacteria way and are crucial to the repair process.

The scientists also discovered that this process could be sped up by adding a protein called VEG FC.

They now hope to develop a treatment which works by triggering the heart to heal itself then encouraging the repair process through the use of the protein.

Professor Paul Riley, of Oxford University, whose findings are published in the journal Nature said: 'We have shown given the right stimulus after a heart attack there is a significant response from the lymphatic system which enhances the heart's healing process and limits the damage left behind.

'This significantly improved the pumping function of the heart.

'This has never been documented before and the implications of these findings, in mice, could be huge.

'By unravelling the mystery of how the lymphatic system develops and its role in heart repair we hope to find new ways to reduce the devastating impact of a heart attack.'

Dr Linda Klotz, of University College London, said: 'These findings are an exciting new step in regenerative medicine and unlock the potential for us to help organs to heal themselves following a traumatic event like a heart attack.

'Our greater understanding of the way lymphatic vessels develop from multiple origins in a growing embryo will also have important implications for creating targeted therapies and for future lymphatic studies.'

The numbers of patients with heart failure is increasing as the population ages and some studies suggest rates have doubled since the 1980s.

The condition causes breathlessness, fatigue and also increases the risk of stroke, blood clots and further heart attacks as the heart is unable to pump blood around the body at the necessary pressure.

Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, which funded the study said: 'Relatively little is known about the role of the lymphatic system in the heart.

'This research has shed new light on how lymphatic vessels develop and shows for the first time they may play a significant role in the heart's response to injury after a heart attack.

'This opens up new opportunities to identify treatments that might - in the future - help to limit the damage caused by a heart attack.

'It's only by funding important research such as this we can hope to one day end heart failure.'

Share your thoughts...thanks!