This is an opportunity for patients, the public and our researchers to discuss and debate heart research from Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College London.
To reserve a place or find out more please contact Julia Coffey: 020 7352 8121 ext 2746 or email j.coffey@rbht.nhs.uk
Speakers
- Richard Ashcroft – bioethicist
- Sian Harding – cell therapy scientist
- Alex Lyon – heart failure hospital consultant
Refreshments provided from 6pm.
Please join us for a coffee and a chat about current research on heart cells, the potential to help patients with poor heart function and the ethical issues surrounding heart cell research.
Sian Harding, professor of cardiac pharmacology at Imperial College says “We have worked for some time on the beating muscle of the heart and the cells that make up that muscle – cardiomyocytes. When the heart is damaged, for example by a heart attack, the patient can initially recover. However, some cardiomyocytes will have died, and the natural rate of replacement is very low. The cells that remain gradually weaken over time, and finally the patient develops heart failure. We will discuss two new, complementary strategies. In our gene therapy trial we aim to reverse the changes in the remaining cardiomyocytes, restoring the beating force of the heart. In cell therapy, we are trying to go even further, and give new cardiomyocytes to the heart and so reverse the damage itself. These new therapies bring new challenges, both technically and ethically.”