Newborn Mice’s Hearts can Heal Themselves.

Researchers from university of Texas Southwestern Medical Center are investigating mammalian hearts that can fully heal themselves. It had first been noted in fish ad amphibians. But research on mice has discovered that they can regenerate a damaged heart. Researchers removed the 15 Percent of the lowest portion of the heart of a one day old mice and within three weeks it had regrown.

It was noted that mice lost this regenerative capability after seven days, similar to how humans loss the ability to repair damaged heart tissue after a few months.

If researchers are able to fully understand this mechanism, we could possibly be able to reactivate the genes responsible for heart tissue repair and a possible solution to heart failure and other heart conditions.

source:http://www.sciencemag.org/content/331/6020/1078.short

Christine Otieno VTPP 435-501