Stem Cell Therapies for Hearts May Be Closer

Posted on December 26, 2009 in Health & Medicine, Recent Studies, Technology

New stem cell therapies to repair heart damage are on the horizon. An intravenous method of injecting stem cells into patients who had experienced a heart attack within 10 days was found to be successful in a recent study.

The new clinical approach could help patients who might otherwise experience heart failure, according to the article published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The stem cells reduce the amount of scar tissue and increase the pumping strength of the heart in heart attack patients. They also grow a limited amount of new heart muscle.

Researchers are also looking into how the therapy could help patients who have experienced heart attacks many months or years in the past. The current study shows the results from patients who just had a six-month follow-up.