Key points from article :
Replacement stents and heart valves made from biodegradable materials can be a permanent solution.
Biodegradable plastic heart valves and blood vessels are accepted by the body and transformed into living tissue in pre-clinical trials.
“This new stent triggers the body to heal the damaged artery from the inside, while the stent structure itself only stays temporarily in the body.” - Carlijin Bouten, lead author.
Small-diameter vascular implant made from a biodegradable electrospun polymer can be inserted using a minimally invasive approach.
Cell-free biodegradable heart valves promote colonization of host cells in the valve structure, tissue formation, and remodeling.
Implanted valves were capable of sustaining valve functionality for up to 1 year.
The plastic implant was degraded and replaced by new tissue that was regenerated by the body itself.
Research by the Eindhoven University of Technology published in the journal JACC: Basic to Translational Science.
