Breakthrough in Heart Research

Researchers at the Utrecht University Medical Center, the Netherlands, and the Hubrecht Laboratory, also in Utrecht, have succeeded in growing cardiac muscle cells from adult human hearts. This major step forward in experimental cardiology is big news, if only because heart problems are the number one cause of death in the Western world.

Up to now heart muscle cells - or cardio myocytes could only be grown from embryonic stem cells. The newly developed heart muscle cells behave exactly like natural heart cells and in the future will help repair damaged hearts. The scientists are hopeful that human testing can begin within three years.

Crucial in this case is the fact that the stem cells are not embryonic, which means the whole ethical debate about the use of human embryos for scientific research can be avoided. But there are clinical advantages as well. Embryonic stem cells come with their own immune system and this can be incompatible with the immune system of the patient. The patient's body may identify the foreign stem cells as being alien and attack them, so the treatment is ineffective.

It's also extremely difficult to grow high-quality cardiac muscle cells from embryonic stem cells, and even a single faulty one can produce tumours - the patient gets cancer on top of heart failure. But the Utrecht scientists use the patient's own cells to grow their cardiac muscle cells, so there is no problem with rejection. And they are cardiac cells to begin with, which greatly reduces the possibility of one of them turning cancerous.

Another advantage of the approach taken by the Utrecht University cardiologists is that they don't need any donors for their scientific research. During regular heart surgery, such as bypass surgery or valve replacement, the oracle, a little bit of heart tissue that doesn't serve any purpose, is normally just thrown away. Now the researchers are standing by to take this bit of flesh to their laboratory in order to harvest the precious cardiac stem cells as quickly as possible.

Source:  Radio Netherlands Worldwide, April 2008

Non-Invasive Treatment for Uterine Fibroids

InSightec Ltd. has developed the only FDA approved MR Guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery (MRgFUS) device, which has been used to treat uterine fibroids non-invasively, minimizing trauma, morbidity and recovery time. In addition to enhancing patient care, the procedure has a significant economic impact reducing overall medical costs when compared to conventional surgery. Uterine fibroid is a pervasive condition that impacts up to 70% of women of childbearing age and can lead to serious symptoms.

The company’s device is the world’s first non-invasive surgery system to combine focused ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. It received its European CE Marking in 2002 and U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in 2004 for treating uterine fibroids

The MRgFUS procedure takes between two to four hours depending on the size of the fibroids treated. Patients are able to go home the same day and return to normal activities within a day or two. Hysterectomy  is the most common treatment for uterine fibroids, and is a major surgery requiring hospitalization and significantly longer recovery times. Many women have chosen to suffer from the severe symptoms that fibroids cause rather than undergo hysterectomies or other invasive surgical procedures.

Uterine fibroids carry a significant economic burden in terms of the cost of treatment, hospitalization and work absenteeism. Since the MRgFUS procedure is performed on an outpatient basis without any hospitalization and allows the patient to return to normal activity within one to two days, it offers cost and comfort advantages to patients, healthcare providers and employers as compared with other treatment modalities.

InSightec is carrying out an extensive research program to conduct clinical trials using this technology in various cancerous applications including breast, bone metastases, liver, brain and prostate, while continuing clinical trials in uterine fibroids.

About the device

This is the first system to use the breakthrough MRgFUS technology that combines MRI – to visualize the body anatomy, plan the treatment and monitor treatment outcome in real time – and high intensity focused ultrasound to thermally ablate tumors inside the body non-invasively. MR thermometry, provided uniquely by the system, allows the physician to control and adjust the treatment in real time to ensure that the targeted tumor is fully treated and surrounding tissue is spared. This has been recognized for its innovation and potential to serve mankind and has been awarded the 2004 European Union’s Information Society Technologies grand prize, The Wall Street Journal’s 2004 Technology Innovation Awards, Advanced Imaging’s 2005 Solutions of the Year, the Red Herring 100 Europe 2007 Award and currently one of the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer 2008.

Source: Business Wire, San Francisco, USA, April 2008

Breakthrough Fertility Research

A research team from Edinburgh University has developed the new method, which enabled them to grow hundreds of eggs in a laboratory, the first time such a feat has been achieved.

The process works by removing a piece of ovary from the woman, which contains hundreds of immature eggs. These are then frozen, to be thawed at a later date and exposed to a chemical treatment to encourage growth. Once the eggs reach full growth, then they can be fertilised, and the embryo implanted in the womb.

The study has the potential to revolutionise fertility treatments due to the multitude of eggs that were successfully frozen, which amounts to many more than allowed by traditional IVF techniques. It also takes younger eggs, which were found to survive freezing more effectively than mature eggs.

Not only could the research prove beneficial to women left infertile by medical treatment, it could also be used for women who want to wait and have children in later life.

'Women who face infertility as a result of chemotherapy, or who want to put their biological clock on hold, could benefit from this system. However, there is a lot more research to be carried out before this technique could be safely applied within a clinical setting,' the researcher adds.

Source: Marie Claire.co.uk, April 2008

Breakthrough In Gene Therapy For Cancer

A revolutionary cancer treatment using microscopic magnets to enable 'armed' human cells to target tumours has been developed. A new study shows that inserting these nanomagnets into cells carrying genes to fight tumours, results in many more cells successfully reaching and invading malignant tumours.

Using human cells as delivery vehicles for anti-cancer gene therapy has long been an attractive approach for treating tumours, but these cells usually reach tumours in insufficient numbers to effectively attack them. Now, a new 'magnetic targeting' method has been developed to overcome this problem by the researchers at the University of Sheffield, the University of Keele, and at the University of Nottingham.

The technique involves inserting nanomagnets into monocytes - a type of white blood cell used to carry gene therapy - and injecting the cells into the bloodstream. The researchers then placed a small magnet over the tumour to create a magnetic field and found that this attracted many more monocytes into the tumour.

The head of the laboratory in which the work was done, explains: "The use of nanoparticles to enhance the uptake of therapeutically armed cells by tumours could herald a new era in gene therapy - one in which delivery of the gene therapy vector to the diseased site is much more effective. This new technique could also be used to help deliver therapeutic genes in other diseases like arthritic joints or ischemic heart tissue."

The team are now looking at how effective magnetic targeting is at delivering a variety of different cancer-fighting genes, including ones which could stop the spread of tumours to other parts of the body.

Source: ScienceDaily, April 2008