The currently available treatment options for children born with congenital heart diseases are restricted to chemically-treated animal tissue valves . These valves fail to grow with the child , get calcified and become dysfunctional. Such children may need up to five valve replacement surgeries until adulthood, when a mechanical valve is implanted. Researchers from the University of Minnesota have attempted to address this issue by creating heart valves in a laboratory that can grow within the recipient.
The researchers used a hybrid of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine to create growing heart valves, which were implanted in young lambs for a year (Figure 1). Positive growth potential was found in the newly engineered valve and the valve leaflet diameter was reported to be increased in ultrasound images. Additionally, the tri-tube valves were functionally better than the…
