title: Adult stem cells in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction.
abstract: Stem cell therapy has emerged as a novel therapeutic treatment alternative for early and end stage LV dysfunction. The rapid translation into clinical trials has left many questions unanswered. Moreover, results of randomized trials in the setting of acute myocardial infarction are controversial, emphasizing a need for further basic and translational research to improve understanding of cell functionality. This review attempts to summarize some of the functional issues related to cell therapy and also evaluate the current status of stem cell clinical trials. Although results to date have shown modest improvement in left ventricular function, the progress should follow a coordinated, multidisciplinary, and well designed path to address issues of cell homing, cell retention, and also look at outcomes beyond physiological parameters.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Center, OLV Zeikenhuis, Aalst, Belgium. faisalshareef@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Faisal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sharif
authors.forename: Jozef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bartunek
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vanderheyden
mesh_terms: D053687:Adult Stem Cells / Q000637:transplantation*; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology*; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000473:pathology / Q000637:transplantation*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012038:Regeneration; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left