title: Stem cell therapy: a primer for interventionalists and imagers.
abstract: In recent years, research advancement in stem cell therapy has been rapid. Accordingly, general clinical, scientific, and public attention to the application of stem cell therapy has been substantial. Promises are great, most notably with regard to the application of stem cell therapy for diseases that are currently difficult to treat or incurable such as Parkinson disease or diabetes mellitus. It is in the best interest of patient care for diagnostic and interventional radiologists to be actively involved in the development of these therapies, both at the bench and at the bedside in clinical studies. Specifically, the diagnostic radiologist can become an expert in imaging, tracking, and monitoring of stem cells and in the assessment of engraftment efficiency, whereas the interventionalist is a natural expert in targeted stem cell delivery by means of different routes (percutaneous, selective intravenous, or intraarterial). In addition, there is a potential role for the interventionalist to create engraftment territory and increase engraftment bed fertility with controlled intentional tissue destruction (eg, by means of thermal ablation) that might precede stem cell administration.
authors: Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center-Harvard Medical School, One Deaconess Road, Boston, MA 02215, USA. boris.nikolic@uphs.upenn.edu
authors: Boris
authors: B
authors: Nikolic
authors: Salomao
authors: S
authors: Faintuch
authors: S Nahum
authors: SN
authors: Goldberg
authors: Michael D
authors: MD
authors: Kuo
authors: John F
authors: JF
authors: Cardella
mesh_terms: D000792:Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D015642:Radiology, Interventional / Q000379:methods*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*