New Injectable Hydrogel Encourages Regeneration and Improves Functionally After a Heart Attack

This article called "New Injectable Hydrogel Encourages Regeneration and Improves Functionally after a Heart Attack" is found from the Science Daily research news. The article is very current and came out this Tuesday on Feb. 20th. The article discussed how the University of California, San Diego bioengineers demonstrated in a study of pigs that a new injectable hydrogel can repair the damage from heart attacks. The gel can help the heart grow new tissue and blood vessels, and get the heart back to original state it was before a heart attack. The injection does not require surgery, simply a catheter. There are around 785,000 new heart attack cases in the U.S.A each year, which do not have any treatments in repairing the damaged tissue. The new hydrogel is able to increase cardiac muscle and reduce scar tissue in the region damaged by the heart attack. The hydrogel is made from cardiac connective tissue that undergoes a series of freezing and drying out to get it into a fluid that can easily be injected into the heart. Once the injection is inside body, the body temperature turns the liquid into a semi-solid porous gel. This new system provides the potential for a longer and better quality of life for millions of heart attack victims. This article relates to biology in the materials in the hydrogel injection and the cardiac part of the body. The hydrogel injection relates to what we have learned in class the past week about molecules and the upcoming unit about the body and cells. The sub-branch of biology that this article falls under is the human body which will be unit 10. I feel that this new study can lead to many new things that have to do with repairing any tissues including heart attacks. This has definityley opended a new door for heart attack victims, and I feel that it is going to be a real benefit for them. It only has been tested on pigs so that does keep me from believing in it completely but I really do feel that this could work and needs to be brought to everyone's attention. This is going to change things in the medical field and I feel that it is really cool that they have actually found something to repair the damage after heart attacks. I personally know victims of heart attacks and knowing that they are living with damage to their cardiac tissue due to the heart attacks is very scary. This development affects the world in many ways, and can change medical procedures after cardiac arrests. This development has a major impact on the world and can really help those in need not just in the United States. It can also benefit the world and give others a procedure to repair the tissue and blood vessels!