Prospects for development

The human heart is made up of billions of cells and at least 10,000 cells are responsible for controlling the beat. However, old age and illness can cause arrhythmias, such as beating too quickly or too slowly, even stopping contractions, leading to cardiac arrest (cardiac arrest, may be temporary or permanent).

The implantation of a pacemaker in the chest will become the past when the 'bio-pacemaker' is born.

Patients with arrhythmias often have to use pacemakers (maintain beats with small electrical impulses), but this is not the optimal method because a small mistake can also cause consequences. serious. Therefore, scientists have constantly sought to develop methods of regulating heart rate in the most natural way.The "biological heart machine" developed by experts at the Heart Institute Cedars-Sinai (USA) is a new breakthrough.

In a recent report, the team said they had successfully tested a "biological cardiac pacemaker" by implanting a strain of genetically engineered virus into a heart muscle cell, hoping to partially transform it. heart into a pacemaker itself. Accordingly, the virus carries a human gene called Tbx18 - often activated when cells that regulate heart rate form during the infancy - implanted into the hearts of seven experimental pigs. Experts found that the infected heart cells changed in a smaller and slimmer fashion, but there were special features similar to conventional pacemaker cells. As a result, five of the seven pigs had a heart rate thanks to the new heart.

Dr. Hee Cheol said that the results are very encouraging and his research group wants to conduct more tests in animals before applying them to humans to provide a chance for survivors to survive. Heart in the future.