Stem cell therapy: promising treatment in heart failure?
Cardiac repair through the use of regenerative medicine has been a considerable research focus over the last decade. Several stem cell types have been investigated over this timeframe as potential candidates to target post-infarction heart failure. The progression of investigation through the rigors of clinical trial design has provided some answers as to the potential clinical utility of this therapy; although there are many questions that remain. This review will concentrate on the clinical trial results of stem cell therapy for cardiac repair since the turn of the century and discuss some of the points that need clarification before this form of therapy can be considered for widespread applicability.
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Louisville, 550 S Jackson Street ACB Bldg, 3rd Floor, Louisville, KY 40202, USA. jhloug01@louisville.edu
John H
JH
Loughran
Atul R
AR
Chugh
Imtiaz
I
Ismail
Roberto
R
Bolli
D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D024510:Muscle Development / Q000502:physiology; D032448:Myoblasts, Skeletal / Q000637:transplantation; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*