AD artificial heart valves presently
substituted for faulty ones, introduce a foreign substance into a
patient's body and thus increase the
chances of rejection by the body's
immune system. Now, researchers
at the Children's Hospital in Boston
are trying to develop a tissue-engineered valve. Recent findings in this
field indicate that patients can eventually receive valves grown from
their own cells (Scientific American, Vol 272, No 6).
Initial tests on lambs have been
successful, but researchers are not
sure how long the valves can with-stand the blood pressure, besides
being sceptical about its economic dimensions.
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