MICROSCOPIC-DRONES COULD REPAIR DAMAGED ARTERIES

Technique Using Dissolvable-Polymer Nanoparticles Could Prevent Heart Attacks, Strokes

Microscopic “drones” with the potential to repair arteries and prevent heart attacks have been successfully test on mice by scientists in the US. The tiny drones are “1,000 times smaller than the tip of a human hair” and are made from a dissolvable biodegradable polymer already in use in certain certified medical products. “This is the first example of a targeted nanoparticle technology that reduces atherosclerosis in an animal model,” said Dr Omid Farokhzad, lead researcher on the project and director of the Laboratory of Nanomedicine and Biomaterials at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, US.

The nanoparticles are designed to seek out and fix onto atherosclerotic plaques, they then release a drug derived from a protein called annexin A1 which occurs naturally in the body and serves to repair inflammation damage. In a study involving mice, the injected-nanoparticles led to reduced inflammation and plaque-shrinkage. It is hoped the technique could be used to treat humans with damaged arteries and prevent heart attacks and strokes.