Regenerative capacity of the myocardium: implications for treatment of heart failure

Research into myocardial regeneration has an exciting future, shown by the results of experimental and clinical work challenging the dogma that the heart is a postmitotic non-regenerating organ. Such studies have initiated a lively debate about the feasibility of novel treatment approaches leading t...

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Published inThe Lancet (British edition) Vol. 363; no. 9417; pp. 1306 - 1313
Main Authors von Harsdorf, Rüdiger, Poole-Wilson, Philip A, Dietz, Rainer
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Elsevier Ltd 17.04.2004
Lancet
Elsevier Limited
Subjects
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Cardiology. Vascular system
Cell Division
Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy
Cloning
Cloning, Organism
General aspects
Health care expenditures
Heart
Heart - physiology
Heart failure
Heart Failure - pathology
Heart Failure - physiopathology
Heart Failure - therapy
Heart failure, cardiogenic pulmonary edema, cardiac enlargement
Humans
Medical research
Medical sciences
Medical treatment
Myocardium - cytology
Regeneration
Stem cells
Tissue Engineering
Heart failure
Medicine
Myocardium
Cardiovascular disease
Treatment
Heart disease
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Summary:Research into myocardial regeneration has an exciting future, shown by the results of experimental and clinical work challenging the dogma that the heart is a postmitotic non-regenerating organ. Such studies have initiated a lively debate about the feasibility of novel treatment approaches leading to the recovery of damaged myocardial tissue. The possibility of reconstituting dead myocardium by endogenous cardiomyocyte replication, transplantation, or activation of stem cells—or even cloning of an artifical heart—is being advanced, and will be a major subject of future research. Although health expenditure for heart failure in the industrial world is high, we are still a long way from being able to treat the cause of reduced myocardial contractility. Despite the hopes of some people, conventional treatment for heart failure does not achieve myocardial regeneration. We present a virtual case report of a patient with acute myocardial infarction; we discuss treatment options, including strategies aimed at organ regeneration.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-3
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ObjectType-Review-1
ISSN:0140-6736
1474-547X
DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(04)16006-6