The secret to a healthier and “younger” heart lies in the vagus nerve. A recent study coordinated by the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa and published in Science Translational Medicine showed that the preservation of bilateral cardiac vagal innervation is an antiaging factor. In particular, the right cardiac vagus nerve emerges as a veritable guardian of cardiomyocyte health, helping to maintain heart longevity independent of heart rate.
The study is characterized by a strongly interdisciplinary approach, which integrates experimental medicine and bioengineering applied to cardiovascular research. Specifically, the research was led by the Translational Intensive Care Unit (TrancriLab) of the Interdisciplinary Research Center Health Scienceunder the responsibility of Professor Vincenzo Lionetti, and from the Biorobotics Institute laboratory led by Professor Silvestro Micera, which contributed to the development of the bioabsorbable nerve conduit used to facilitate vagal regeneration.
The experimental work was carried out in Pisa thanks to the European FET (Future and Emerging Technologies) funding in its framework NeuHeart project and, in part, with the support of PNRR funds from the Tuscan Health Ecosystem. The study involved a wide network of Italian and international institutions of excellence, such as Scuola Normale Superiore, University of Pisa, Fondazione Toscana G. Monasterio, CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology, University of Udine, GVM Care & Research, Al-Farabi National Institute of Kazakhstan at Aglytechn Jecole and National Institute of Kazakhstan at Aglytechn Jeecol. Fédérale de Lausanne.
“When the integrity of the connection with the vagus nerve is lost, the heart ages faster,” explains Professor Lionetti.
Even partial restoration of the connection between the right vagus nerve and the heart is sufficient to counteract the remodeling mechanisms and maintain effective cardiac contractility.”
Anar Dushpanova, cardiologist at TrancriLab
The contribution of bioengineering was decisive. “We have developed an implantable bioresorbable nerve conduit designed to promote and guide the spontaneous regeneration of the thoracic vagus nerve at the cardiac level,” explains Eugenio Redolfi Riva, co-author of the neuroprosthetic patent at the Biorobotics Institute.
Taken together, these results open new perspectives for cardiothoracic and transplant surgery, suggesting that cardiopulmonary rehabilitation at the time of surgery may represent an innovative strategy for long-term heart protection, shifting the clinical paradigm from the management of late complications associated with premature cardiac aging to their prevention,” concludes Profes.
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