Regenerative Properties of the Newborn Heart Offers Hope for Those With Congenital Heart Disease

Researchers from the Murdoch’s Children Research Institute (MCRI) are developing new treatments for congenital heart disease that could enable children born with birth defects can regenerate the damaged organ.
In 2011, Prof. Enzo Porello, who is now head of the Heart Regeneration Laboratory at the MCRI, demonstrated the regenerative properties of newborn mouse hearts at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre. Prior to this research, the capacity of mammalian hearts to regenerate was a debated topic.
“This sort of changed our thinking of what was possible in terms of stimulating the human heart to regenerate itself following damage, such as a heart attack,” Porrello said, reported the Australian. “And I guess this also fuelled my own interest in my subsequent career in the area of regenerative medicine.”…