Ales Rarus

Here's a news story related to the previous post .

First successful human stem cell treatment for heart disease uses adult stem cells

"The first reports of successful treatment for heart disease using the patient's own adult muscle stem cells are encouraging news regarding therapy after heart attack. French physiciansimplanted skeletal muscle stem cells back into the patient; the encouraging result after eight months' follow- up underlines the potential of this new approach using adult stem cells. Furtherclinical trials are now underway in Europe and the U.S. for other patients with heart disease. No
embryonic stem cells have ever been reported to be used in human trials. A review of potential heart treatments notes that cell transplantation is a potential therapeuticapproach for patients with chronic heart failure. Experimental transplantation of muscle cellsshowed that the grafted cells can functionally integrate with and augment the function of the recipient heart. The scientists note that skeletal stem cells are abundant and can be graftedsuccessfully into the animal's own heart even after genetic manipulation in vitro."