Acclaimed heart surgeon Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub is spearheading a revolutionary new project in the UK that will soon allow patients to be given new heart valves that naturally grow inside their body, the Daily Mail reported.
Diseased heart valves lead to a greater risk of heart failure or stroke, with current treatment options coming with their own complications such as rejection by the body or mechanical failure.
The advantage of this method over previous options is that it allows the valves to grow alongside the patient – particularly beneficial for children.
“I always say that nature is the greatest technology,” Dr Yacoub told The Sunday Times. “It’s so superior to anything we can make. Once something is alive – whether it’s a cell, a tissue or [the living valve] – it adapts by itself. Biology is like magic.”
Up to 50 patients are taking part in the experimental treatment, where according to the Daily Mail, they will be given “temporary valves made from fibers that act as a ‘scaffold’ that can be implanted to integrate with the body’s cells. ”
“Over time, the scaffolding dissolves, leaving behind a living valve made entirely of the patient’s own tissue,” it added.
The Daily Mail report states that every year around 13,000 heart valve replacements are performed in England and 300,000 worldwide, with the numbers increasing each year.
The new living valve treatment could transform the lives of these patients by eliminating the need for repeated operations and reducing the risk of rejection, it added.
According to the Daily Mail’s report, research published in the journal Nature Communications Biology, showed promising results in sheep. Within four weeks of transplantation, more than 20 cell types – including nerve and fat tissue – were found in the correct locations, mimicking a natural heart valve, it added.
“Within six months, the structure is made entirely of living cells from the patient, and after one to two years, the structure dissolves, leaving behind a fully functioning heart valve that grows with the patient throughout their lives,” the report explained.
It added that this current project led by Heart Biotech at Harefield Hospital has successfully encouraged nerve cell growth into the valve, contrary to previous attempts.
Human trials involving 50-100 patients, including children, are due to begin within 18 months, the report said.
The trial run will see a team of international experts from New York, Italy and the Netherlands working alongside the University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital to compare the new living valve with current artificial valves.
The Daily Mail report quoted an associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, Sonya Babu Narayan, as calling this development the “holy grail” of heart valve surgery.
“It’s early days, but if further research shows this approach works in humans, many more people around the world could live well for longer without the need for repeated heart valve operations,” she said.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
