VANCOUVER, CANADA — Scientists at the University of British Columbia have grown a pair human blood vessels for the first time.<br /><br />Scientists used stem cells to grow organoids in a petri dish, according to a study published in the journal Nature.<br /><br />The organoids were then planted in mice and had a survival rate of more than 95 percent.<br /><br />The researchers observed that the organoids had developed into human blood vessels with arteries and capillaries after six months.<br /><br />The research team from UBC used this same technique to study the impact of diabetes on these lab-grown blood vessels, according to New Atlas.<br /><br />Diabetes causes the membrane that surrounds the blood vessels to expand and decreases the amount of oxygen and nutrients delivered to the cells and tissue.<br /><br />This in turn increases the risk of health problems such as heart attacks, kidney failure and blindness.<br /><br />The researchers found that none of the current anti-diabetic medications helped in curing the flawed blood vessels.<br /><br />However, they did find an enzyme inhibitor which could help in preventing the membrane from expanding.<br /><br />This discovery could be beneficial in treating diabetes in the future.<br /><br />The researchers say the lab-grown blood vessels could help in finding treatments and determine the cause for different vascular disease such as Alzheimer's disease, wound healing problems and diabetes.<br /><br />SOURCES: New Atlas, University of British Columbia news release, Nature Journal, <br />https://newatlas.com/stem-cells-blood-vessels/58095/<br />https://news.ubc.ca/2019/01/16/scientists-grow-perfect-human-blood-vessels-in-a-petri-dish/<br />https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0858-8
