Researchers from Brown University, Soochow University, Fudan University and Hebei University of Technology have developed an inexpensive hydrogel patch that has been shown to reduce heart damage after a seizure heart. The study, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering On April 15, was performed in rodents and demonstrated that a hydrogel-based patch applied to the heart could reduce cell death, oxidative stress and accumulation of scar tissue, markers heart damage.

Previous research has shown that mechanical patches may help prevent permanent damage after a heart attack. Hearts must continue to pump blood throughout the body after a heart attack, which can strain and stretch the heart muscles, reducing their ability to function.

Lin and his colleagues first created detailed models of the mechanics of a normally beating heart, then used this information to test mechanical patches that would support the heart without unduly restricting it. The researchers then determined how hearts remodel after a heart attack to determine the required properties of mechanical support to prevent the development of permanent damage. The hydrogel patch produced in this study is cheap, effective and nontoxic.

Although the results of this study are promising, these hydrogel patches remain to be tested in humans. Each year, there are more than 800,000 cases of heart attack (myocardial infarction) in the United States. The development of a hydrogel patch that can be deployed in humans and effectively protecting patients against post-infarction injury would be an important adjunct in the medical treatment of infarcts.

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