Clotting protein hardens aging hearts
Thursday, November 7, 2013 - 11:30
in Health & Medicine
A researcher has found through studies of pigs' heart valves that age plays a critical role in the valves' progressive hardening, and the problem may be due to the infiltration of a protein known as von Willebrand factor. Tissues from pig valves are commonly used to make human heart-valve replacements.