British researchers from University College London are currently developing a pill that help the heart repair itself after a heart attack, reports the Telegraph.
The study published online in Nature, proves the heart has dormant repair cells in its outer layer that may be re-activated, suggesting that in the future, the heart can be encouraged to repair itself after a heart attack.
Scientists believe it will take another decade, however, until the medicine is perfected, and hope to conduct human clinical trials in the coming years.
Researchers discovered that the protein thymosin beta-4, key to heart growth in the young, appears to reawaken the dormant stem cells in adults.
“To repair a damaged heart is one of the holy grails of heart research,” said Professor Jeremy Pearson. “This groundbreaking study shows that adult hearts contain cells that, given the right stimulus, can mobilize and turn into new heart cells that might repair a damaged heart.”
“I could envisage a patient known to be at risk of a heart attack – either because of family history or warning signs spotted by their GP – taking an oral tablet, along the lines of a statin, which would prime their heart so that if they had a heart attack, the damage could be repaired,” said Professor Paul Riley.