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Study: Converting skin cells into healthy heart cells

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    Dr. Lisa Matzer weighs in on possibilities

  • Duration 3:25
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-- -- and you study going against everything medical students are taught in school.

Researchers are calling it in medical first saying heart -- may be reversible.

By using stem cells taken from a patient's own skin cells.

Amazing separate from more in the study were joined by doctor Lisa -- -- an internist cardiologist doctor -- you're tied medical skill a school that at.

Heart muscles can't be re grown.

But this study shows us something different way -- -- skin cells how does this even work.

Well it's been shown in numerous types of cells that we can regrow heart cells.

I'll tell you it's fascinating after being called a 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning to wake up and prevent -- heart attack and a person knowing yet if -- to later free fall asleep.

That there be a big heart attack and in the and the patient will not survive very long.

So is -- but we now know that bone marrow cells as well as skin cells now from the study.

Can also be re grown in in cells in the lab and then put back again.

And function as normal young healthy cells it's so it this -- in the skin cells.

Can be re grown to actually beat.

Like a heart muscle.

Yes the -- they can be reprogrammed.

And -- conditioned.

And then.

Be -- generated so we're -- -- when -- put the minute test tube the dead cells from the -- they're taking the skin from up a person.

With unhealthy heart.

And they're putting that unhealthy skin.

And they re generating brand new heart cells is so it's pretty amazing I have the technology to do that.

On the right now we're noticing that different types of cells -- said can be grown into heart tissue.

But one of the obstacles we're gonna face in the future is whether or not these new skin cells that are now heart cells can actually function and enough hostile environment and that old dead heart muscle of that person with a heart -- so that's something that rule was that you worked on in the future business and the questions that you -- can this really help and how far off are -- from it becoming a reality.

For a patient that you might see.

Well it's gonna help all of her patients with heart failure so our patients where the heart muscle is functioning at half -- normal level.

Those that are out of breath that are tired all the time.

On that really can't function and concentrate or -- -- daily activities it's gonna help all those patients.

We have about 600000 a year that are dying from this alone so it's going to be a huge impact.

We're catching the ones first are gonna be the ones that are the most severe and those are usually with big large heart attacks and doesn't have to be recent but can be as far back as seven to ten years.

So those are the people that are the most -- -- the sickest that are on the list for transplants and pacing devices so those will help first but.

In the future will be able to help even out anyone that for instance doesn't get to the hospital on time to get place to -- -- go firm open heart surgery.

To help preserve that heart muscle.

We can help all those.

I think in terms of having those cells live and a hostile environment kind of like.

Taking a Los Angeles person and putting them through -- harsh storm in New York.

-- kind of environments you know wouldn't would they survived that tour were working on now in terms of getting.

Those cells to -- I know as a Californian originally.

Moving to new York and going -- -- snowstorm there is some adjustments it was good point doctor -- -- they say five years before their current policies take place an interesting line.

And an interesting example thank you so much for joining us today.

They.

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