Indian Medicine

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The results of animal studies indicate that application of a special patch (Anginera) to the surface of the heart immediately after an attack may prevent heart failure, scientists reported Wednesday at the American Heart Association's Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Conference 2008 in Keystone, Colorado.

"A lot of clinical studies have looked at direct injection of...stem cells into the heart muscle, but the results have not been super stellar," presenter Jordan J. Lancaster told Reuters Health.

For their current research, Lancaster's group used a patch that contained used fibroblast cells embedded in a biodegradable matrix. This absorbable patch has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers.

Lancaster's group from the Southern Arizona VA Medical Center in Tucson and at Theregen Inc. in San Francisco first tested the patch in rats with experimentally induced heart attacks.

Application of the patch allowed the heart to pump normally after a heart attack and helped reverse the muscle damage that usually take place, Lancaster said. The patch worked best when applied to the heart immediately after the attack, though some benefit was seen even when it was used 3 weeks later.

Lancaster said that the patch is now being tested in humans undergoing bypass surgery. In this scenario, the patch is being placed in areas that do not directly receive blood flow during the operation.

Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited.