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The heart-stopping news from Stockholm is that the heart never stops—growing, that is. Because researchers have shown that the human heart continues to produce muscle cells, even in adults.
Scientists have long debated whether the heart was capable of regeneration. They could make heart cells divide in a culture dish. But no one knew whether the cells could do the same in a living organism.
To find out, the Swedish scientists literally took advantage of fallout from the Cold War. The testing of nuclear weapons in the 1950s spewed a lot of radioactive carbon 14 into the air. That C-14 then got incorporated into the cells of every plant and animal on earth. When testing was banned in the ‘60s, C-14 levels dropped.
Those changing levels of radioactive carbon could be used to estimate when individual cells in the body, and in the heart, arose. Using this C-14 dating, the scientists found that a 25-year-old replaces about 1 percent of his heart cells a year, and a 75-year-old about half that, data published in the journal Science. The turnover is a tad slow but it does offer hope that damaged hearts might someday be made to mend themselves.
—Karen Hopkin
For more about this research, go to "Heart cells found to regenerate"
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1 Comments
Add CommentIt’s like a really surprising blog for any one who is suffering from heart disease. But the rate at which damage occurs to the heart cells are far beyond their recovery cycle. So, though it might not be that helpful in recovery, but still for youngsters, it can be like a boon. Isn’t it natural for us to believe we are healthy and not suffering from any disease? I had a similar thought process until my physician asked me to get a heart scan done after he found that my basic cardiograms were not perfect. I discovered that there were calcium deposits in my coronary arteries and I was at a serious risk of a heart attack. I was shocked and went ahead with the Cardiologist's suggestion of an advanced diagnostic scan. Though it’s always tough to undergo such experiences, I was not at any kind of discomfort at the Elitehealth.com advanced heart scan facility. I am not an expert in medical appliance and machines but could feel that the equipment was world-class and I was in safe hands. That feeling is really very important for me and that’s how it actually went on. The facilities for Full Body Scan were as good as they can get.
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