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Monday, November 29, 2004In the experiment, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas induced heart attacks in 58 mice by constricting blood flow in a major artery leading to the left ventricle, or the heart's primary pumping chamber. Half of the mice were injected with a dose of thymosin beta 4, while the rest received a placebo. Forty-five mice survived the procedure and their progress was monitored over a four-week period. After a month, the mice treated with thymosin showed a 60 to 100 per cent improvement in their hearts' ability to contract and pump blood. That's at least twice the improvement of the other mice, the Texas team reported. The biggest gains in heart function occurred within one to three days of their 'attacks,' they said, while the other mice tended to get worse. The thymosin-treated mice also showed far less scar tissue in their hearts, indicating the treatment prevented death of heart muscle cells when they were deprived of oxygen, while levels of other protective immune molecules were increased. They're planning a clinical study that will involve giving the protein to heart attack patients en route to the hospital. posted by Sydney on 11/29/2004 07:46:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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