How oxytocin, the ‘love hormone’, could help repair hearts

New study reveals its healing power

Now, a new study carried out by researchers at Michigan State University, suggests that oxytocin can partially regenerate injured heart cell.

Heart regeneration in zebrafish

Researchers noted that zebrafish produced oxytocin after their hearts were injured by extreme cold, leading to a response that promotes heart regeneration.

Oxytocin in zebrafish

According to the article, in zebrafish, it was shown that “following an injury to the heart, the hormone oxytocin was released into the brain, in a process critical for heart regeneration and cardiac muscle activation.

18-fold increase of oxytocin

In fact, the researchers reported an increase of 18-fold of oxytocin in the zebrafish’s brain within three days of a heart injury.

Regeneration capacity

It is worth mentioning that the researchers chose zebrafish for the experiment because of its high ability to regenerate organs and tissues, including the brain, heart and bones.

In mammals, cells have to be reprogrammed

In the case of mammals, this process doesn’t work independently, but might if cells are reprogrammed.

Oxytocin in human cells

However, oxytocin did had a similar effect on human cells in a laboratory. The scientists tested 15 neurohormones and they said oxytocin had the strongest effect on stimulating the regeneration of human cells.

Potential for heart health

The recent discovery could contribute to significant advances in the treatment of cardiac injuries. Cardiovascular diseases represent the leading cause of death in most countries around the world.

One in five deaths in the US are heart-related

In the United States, about 697,000 people died from heart complications in 2020, which represents 1 in 5 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A solution for heart attacks?

What happens in a heart attack, for example, is that the cells killed in the incident are not able to regenerate themselves. In this sense, the study points to a possible solution, whose main help comes precisely from oxytocin.

Oxytocin: the missing link

According to the study, “there is evidence that oxytocin may be the missing link to achieve sufficient proliferation, activation and migration to fully regenerate lost myocardium in the wounded heart.”

Potential therapies for heart regeneration

“Oxytocin is able to activate cardiac repair mechanisms in injured hearts in zebrafish and human cell cultures, opening the door to new potential therapies for regeneration of the organ in humans”, said Aitor Aguirre, the article’s lead author to CNN.

A big step for heart recovery

Aguirre added that accomplishing even a 15% of heart recovery would already be a huge step, as it would “significantly improve the lives of patients.”

The future of heart health

On the prospects for applying the new discovery, Aguirre seems optimistic. “Oxytocin, or a drug that mimics it, can have positive effects in patients who have suffered a heart attack, regenerating parts of the lost muscle”

Advances in biomedicine

Furthermore, advances in biomedicine and engineering point to an improvement in the quality of life of patients, especially the elderly, who suffer the most from heart disease.