DUBLIN (Dispatches) -- International researchers have developed an injectable hydrogel that could help repair and prevent further damage to the heart muscle after a heart attack.
The project involved the development and testing of an elastin-based hydrogel derived from a naturally occurring biomaterial in the human body
The hydrogel is based on a family of unique biomaterials, called elastin-like recombinamers, that BIOFORGE-UVa had developed in the search for advanced hydrogels for regenerative medicine. It was developed to mimic the environment around the heart following an infarction and then customised to have the ability to protect and promote regeneration of the cardiac tissue
The international research team, which included researchers from Ireland, Spain, Sweden, France and Italy, were able to show that if their hydrogel was injected into the heart muscle shortly after a heart attack, it resulted in less fibrosis (scarring of the cardiac tissue) and an increase in the generation of new blood vessels in the area.