Heart
failure: Can adult stem cells repair the damage?
The heart is unable to recover fully from myocardial
infarction, the tissue damage caused when blood flow is
interrupted. But now Orlic et al. demonstrate that adult
haemopoietic stem cells have the potential to repair both
the structure and function of the failing heart.
Transplantation of bone marrow cells into infarcted tissue
in a mouse model of coronary artery disease regenerates
dead myocardium, increasing cardiac muscle mass and
improving cardiac function.
The prospects of regenerative medicine of this type,
and other revolutionary techniques are discussed in the
News Feature pages.
Other Related Articles:
NIH
Report: Can Stem Cells Repair a Damaged Heart? {PDF} |
