Hormone injections may help heart pain
People with chronic heart disease may soon be able to throw out their pain pills.
Doctors at the Victor Chang Institute in Sydney have shown that occasional hormone injections can be far more effective.
Patients with heart disease have damaged blood vessels causing chest pain or angina.
In a trial treatment, researchers at the Victor Chang Institute gave 20 patients injections of a drug used for bone marrow transplants. They found the hormone switched on stem cells in the heart, forming new blood vessels and alleviating pain for most of the patients.
The technique could reduce the need for heart transplants by prolonging the time before they would need a heart transplant.
It is hoped the treatment will be offered more widely within three years.
