Arteries have been engineered from elderly cells in a step towards new treatments for cardiovascular disease that could be clinically applicable within five years.

Researchers from Duke University grew the new human blood vessels from the cells of older adults with cardiovascular disease.



The work, they say, is a proof of principle for a treatment that could be available within five to ten years.



The treatment could first benefit older adults with cardiovascular disease who need blocked arteries bypassed but don’t have their own vessels available, says lead researcher Laura Niklason.



“There is a great need for viable alternatives to our current available options for treating patients with coronary artery or peripheral arterial disease,” says Niklason, an associate professor of anesthesiology and biomedical engineering. “In this current study, we took vascular cells from four elderly men with heart disease and engineered new blood vessels.”



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