SURVIVAL prospects for people who have had heart surgery could be improved with the help of a genetically engineered human protein. Surgeons at Boston University have found that the protein, called soluble human complement receptor type 1 (sCR1), blocks an immune reaction that can kill patients. They will report in this month's
Around 800 000 people in the US alone have major heart surgery each year, and the number will rise as the population ages. Evidence is mounting that complications after heart operations are caused by an immune reaction called complement cascade. "This is a significant problem," says the lead researcher at Boston, heart surgeon Harold Lazar. "It can result in the death of the patient or more often complications and longer hospital stays."
Complement cascade is a vital part of the immune system that ...
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