(The Engineer) Stuart Nathan - Researchers from Israel and Canada have obtained promising results from an experimental pacemaker made from natural human cells, and believe this system may overcome drawbacks of electrical pacemakers. The team used cells called sinotrial (SA) node pacemaker cells, which make up the natural pacemaker system in the heart. The Israeli team from the Technion and Rambam University Hospital in Haifa, working with experts from the McEwan Center for Regenerative Medicine in Toronto, has devised a protocol for ensuring that embryonic stem cells differentiate into sinotrial node pacemaker cells. In the journal Nature Biotechnology, the team describes how six of the seven subjects had a normal heart rhythm restored after implantation of the embryonic cells.
2017-01-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive