Mini heart culture for effective cardiovascular treatment

Thousands of miniature hearts are being cultured to serve in a medical study by a group of scientists in Scotland.

>>>Feed human heart outside the body

Small silhouette cells separated from heart cells beat at the same beat every 2 seconds in a test tube, which matches the human heartbeat. Scientists at Abertay University use these small heart cells to experiment with drugs that have potential to treat terminal heart disease cases. This study is presented in the World Conference on Biotechnology in Valencia, Spain.

These spherical heart cells are made from stem cells with a diameter of only 1mm. The active heart cells have been created before, however, according to scientists, so far, this is the first time they have been put into research in treating diseases.

Lead researcher Professor Nikolai Zhelev interviewed the BBC: ' These cells are actually cells of the human body, physiologically, they are like real hearts, in this case, the size their is not the problem. We are doing what no research team has ever done, which is to cause sickness on these small heart cells, especially with cardiomyopathy. Not only that, we also tested drugs that prevent the risk of developing cardiomyopathy due to studies on these mini heart cells . '

Enlarged cardiomyopathy is one of the diseases that have not found optimal treatment. The heart muscle becomes thicker and stiffer, thus causing great difficulty in pumping blood to the body. In critical cases, the heart stops suddenly and causes death.

Professor Zhelev said, these mini hearts open a broader view of the chemicals that can be used to treat and test the more viable treatments.

Scientists also said they might be looking for a drug that can treat cancer, and a solution for cardiomyopathy. However, they need more effective animal tests to be able to complete this study and apply it to practical medicine.