Sunday, September 21, 2008

Keeping Veins a One-Way Street

Allow me to simplify a complex process: the heart pumps, the blood flows away from the heart through the arteries and into the capillaries where it carries it's nutrients to cells, then returns to the heart through the veins.  Yet, as we all know, the immensely complex body, however, you simplify describing it, is prone to disfunction and problem associated with all of its processes.

Chronic venous insufficiency is a condition that effects valves in the veins, ceasing to ensure the one-way flow back to the heart.  After conditions such as a blood clot, vein valves can dissolve, leaving incomplete or no function of the valve. Replacing the valve through surgery are hindered considering finding a donor valve within one of the patient's legs is difficult and prosthetic valves are often unsuccessful and have yet to be implemented significantly.  Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology, however, have designed a prosthetic valve they believe will solve this reoccuring problem.

The valve is composed of an organic polymer and is greatly flexible, allowing it to not only function properly, but also to be compatible with the surrounding tissue.  The design allows the valve to undergo the constant stress it will encounter in the vein, surviving through high pressures without leaking as well as only opening with small pressure gradients.  Animal clinical trials are set to begin shortly, a result of several years of designing and testing.  Though unproven in actual use, the valve testing has produced promising results and could be a great asset in treating not only this particular condition, but also leading to treatments of similar issues dealing with the heart and cardiovascular system.

Article from Science Daily:

-Tony Boyle

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