January 29, This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:.
Results from rhesus macaques provide solid ground for a first-in-human investigation of heart repair with stem cell-derived engineered heart muscle.
The results have been published in Nature. Implantation of a tissue engineered heart patch, called engineered heart muscle EHM , is developed to repair the failing heart. The EHM patch is a lab-grown heart muscle made up of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived heart cells embedded in a collagen hydrogel.
The foundation for the translation into clinical testing was established by simulation of the clinical treatment in rhesus macaques. The EHM patch is currently the only technology that allows safe and efficacious delivery with long-term retention of cardiomyocytes in the heart.
An interdisciplinary team led by Professor Wolfram-Hubertus Zimmermann, director of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University Medical Center UMG and Scientific Director of the preclinical and clinical heart patch studies, together with colleagues from the UMG and UKSH, has successfully implanted the so-called "heart patch" in patients with heart failure for the first time.
