Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Fixing Broken Hearts
28 November 2015

Fixing Broken Hearts

Damage to the heart caused by a heart attack can be so bad that the tissue never recovers. Instead, a scar replaces what were once functional, beating cells. The scar saves the patient from immediate death, but long-term the reduced activity often leads to heart failure, poor quality of life and ultimately premature death. Injection of stem cells – commonly taken from bone marrow – into patients’ hearts has been an approach aimed at regenerating the damaged muscles, but clinical trials have yielded little success. Now, research indicates that heart muscle cells themselves (pictured) might do a better job. In a rat model of heart attack, heart muscle cells derived from human embryonic stem cells yielded greater improvements in heart function than stem cells from bone marrow. Furthermore, it’s possible that use of a mature cell type (muscle) might reduce the risk of tumour formation – a concern with stem cell use.

Written by Ruth Williams

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.