by Adina Jensen

“TIMED: Temporal intervention with microparticle encapsulation and delivery—A programmed release systemfor post-myocardial infarction therapy” is an innovative study led by Wang et al, a team of bioengineers from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). This research, published in Cell Biomaterials in 2025 paves the way for improving treatment and aftercare for patients who have suffered with Myocardial Infarctions (MIs, heart attacks), many of whom continue with declined cardiac function that impairs their quality of life.

Annually, cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of MI, globally impacts approximately 3 million people. The death of healthy cardiac tissue post MI essentially leads to decline of cardiac function, which despite systemic drug therapy and surgical intervention, remains as a significant limitation for patients. Part of the issue is that pharmacological intervention is given as a single dose, which is in direct opposition to the needs of the cardiac tissue which regenerates in a step wise process. Increasing pre-clinical studies have shown that using direct cardiac patches to deliver treatment (such as pro vascularisation drugs and anti-inflammatories) can aid in the regeneration of the tissue, and now this team have provided a novel delivery method that better matches the need of the regenerating tissue over time. 

The patch is designed as a layered micro polymer, with each layer being able to deliver and release different drugs at a specific time points during the healing process. The patch is designed to deliver first Neuregulin-1 (in order to protect heart cells), followed by VEGF 7days later (improve blood supply to the tissue) and lastly a TGFBeta blocker (a drug used to aid in reducing scar tissue formation). Together, this timed delivery and combination of therapies was shown to improve heart function in animal and lab models, compared to the single dose interventions post MI. The team showed that the patch had a good safety profile and hope that this novel drug- release system could be effective in the recovery of post-MI cardiac tissue.

This new research has potential to be applicable in other clinical situations, such as cancer and other cardiac ischemic diseases and the team will be looking to take steps towards important clinical validation. Together this novel drug delivery system has the potential to significantly improve clinical outcomes of cardiac patients.

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