Aortic aneurysms are bulges in the aorta, the largest blood vessel that carries oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body. "The soft tissues that make up blood vessels act essentially like rubber bands, and it's the elastic fibers within these tissues that allow them to stretch and snap back," said Prof. Anand Ramamurthi, from Lehigh University. Ramamurthi and colleagues are working on minimally invasive ways to regenerate and repair these elastic fibers using nanoparticles designed to release novel regenerative therapeutics. The innovative techniques could enable treatment soon after an aneurysm is detected and potentially slow, reverse, or even stop its growth.
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