— Assambleya

Fat cells taken from the waistline could hold promise in treating heart attacks, say researchers.

A pilot study on 14 patients in the Netherlands and Spain found that stem cells extracted from fat and delivered to the heart appeared to boost heart function after a heart attack.

Doctors now plan to extend the study to over 300 heart attack patients at 35 clinics in Europe.

A UK heart charity said the approach was «promising».

The research, which was presented at the American Heart Association’s annual conference, followed 14 patients who had suffered a severe heart attack.

Doctors used liposuction to take fat from the abdomen of each patient, extracted millions of stem cells, then delivered these to the heart within 24 hours.

Ten of the patients were given stem cells; while four had a «dummy» treatment.

Six months on, the patients given stem cells had a lower amount of damaged muscle in their hearts – about 15% compared with 25% in the control group.

Lead author, Eric Duckers, of the Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, Netherlands, said: «The study suggests that these cells can be safely obtained and infused inside the hearts of patients following an acute heart attack.»

Professor Jeremy Pearson of the British Heart Foundation, said small clinical trials in the last few years had tested whether stem cells from bone marrow could help the heart recover after a heart attack, «with some promising results».

But he called for further research.

«This pilot study shows for the first time that stem cells from a patient’s fat tissue may be similarly beneficial, indicating a potential new and more convenient source of stem cells,» he said.

«However, since we still know very little about the way these cells could help to repair the damaged heart, there needs to be more research to understand what the stem cells actually do.

«That will help us to understand more about how they could be used for real patient benefit.»

The results of the study, known as Apollo, were not statistically significant, possibly because of its small size.

Researchers now plan a larger trial which will look at the treatment in more detail.

© bbc.co.uk

Garlic may be useful in addition to medication to treat high blood pressure, a study suggests.

Australian doctors enrolled 50 patients in a trial to see if garlic supplements could help those whose blood pressure was high, despite medication.

Those given four capsules of garlic extract a day had lower blood pressure than those on placebo, they report in scientific journal Maturitas.

The British Heart Foundation said more research was needed.

Garlic has long been though to be good for the heart.

Garlic supplements have previously been shown to lower cholesterol and reduce high blood pressure in those with untreated hypertension.

In the latest study, researchers from the University of Adelaide, Australia, looked at the effects of four capsules a day of a supplement known as aged garlic for 12 weeks.

They found systolic blood pressure was around 10mmHg lower in the group given garlic compared with those given a placebo.

Researcher Karin Ried said: «Garlic supplements have been associated with a blood pressure lowering effect of clinical significance in patients with untreated hypertension.

«Our trial, however, is the first to assess the effect, tolerability and acceptability of aged garlic extract as an additional treatment to existing antihypertensive medication in patients with treated, but uncontrolled, hypertension.»

Experts say garlic supplements should only be used after seeking medical advice, as garlic can thin the blood or interact with some medicines.

Ellen Mason, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said using garlic for medicinal purposes dates back thousands of years, but it is essential that scientific research proves that garlic can help conditions such as raised blood pressure.

She said: «This study demonstrated a slight blood pressure reduction after using aged garlic supplements but it’s not significant enough or in a large enough group of people to currently recommend it instead of medication.

«It’s a concern that so many people in the UK have poorly controlled blood pressure, with an increased risk of stroke and heart disease as a consequence. So enjoy garlic as part of your diet but don’t stop taking your blood pressure medication.»

© bbc.co.uk

The placenta may play a key role in determining the gestation period of humans and other mammals, according to a new study.

The research links growth rates of mammals inside the womb to the structure of the placenta and the way it connects mother and baby.

This, as well as mammal size, may explain variations in gestation times.

While a human pregnancy is nine months long, a meadow mouse gives birth after just three weeks.

Finger-like

The placenta plays a fundamental role in reproduction in mammals, transferring nutrients and oxygen from mother to foetus and removing waste from the foetus.

The structure of the placenta, however, varies enormously from species to species. This new study suggests these variations may play a role in the length of the pregnancy.

The researchers analysed 109 mammal species. What they found was the more complex and folded the placenta of a mammal, the shorter the gestation time appeared to be.

What they believe is happening is that more folded placentas are able to deliver more nutrients to the infant, spurring growth, and so reducing gestation times.

More complex placenta were found in mice, which have a gestation period of some three weeks, dogs (two months) and leopards (three months).

But humans and other primates such as baboons were seen to have simpler placentas where fewer nutrients were passing into the foetus, resulting in slower growth rates and longer gestation times.

«In humans, the placenta has simple finger-like branches with a relatively limited connection between the mother’s tissues and those of the foetus,» said Dr Isabella Capellini of Durham University, the lead author on the study.

«Whereas in leopards, the placenta forms a complex web of interconnections that create a larger surface area for the exchange of nutrients.»

The study is published in the journal American Naturalist.

Mother vs baby

There are of course many other factors involved in gestation times, not least the size of the mammal, with larger mammals tending to have longer pregnancies.

Natural selection is also thought to determine at what stage of maturity an animal is born.

An animal like an antelope must be born ready to escape predators, while mice or squirrels are born with their eyes closed and without fur, and must be guarded further by their mothers.

But the role of the placenta may go some way to explaining why gestation times can vary between mammals of similar weight.

A European porcupine, which has a highly folded placenta, has a gestation of two months. A baboon, which will grow to a similar weight, has a simpler placenta, and a gestation length of six months.

Scientists have long seen the organ as a battleground where mother and child compete for nutrients.

The new research suggests that while the offspring of mice may be winning that war, in humans, there may be a more evenly balanced contest between mother and child.

«Parent-offspring conflict is universal,» said Professor Robert Barton, of Durham University, who co-authored the report.

«From the moment of conception, the physiologies of mother and baby are adapted to achieve slightly different goals in terms of how fast the baby grows.»

According to Professor E Wildman of Wayne State University in Detroit, US, who reviewed the study, the research provides strong evidence of the role placenta structure plays in gestation times.

He said the work showed that «the oven was being turned up a bit» in some mammals, with more nutrients leading to faster growth rates.

© bbc.co.uk