Revolutionary Gene Therapy to Treat Heart Patients
By admin • May 19th, 2008 • Category: Heart Research
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A new gene therapy has been developed with the potential to treat heart patients with an injection instead of risky transplant surgery.
This is according to researchers at Harefield Hospital in Middlesex and Imperial College London.
The new therapy inserts a gene, known as SERCA2a, carried by a modified virus, known as an adeno-associated virus, into the heart muscle cells.
The treatment helps the heart recover from the damage caused during a cardiac arrest by helping the muscles around damaged heart tissue to beat harder and faster.
This helps the heart to recover most of its original function.
A small safety trial on the technique will begin in January next year.
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