Stem cells may help repair heart, say scientists

[Judi Lynn]

Stem cells may help repair heart, say scientists
May 19, 2015

LONDON: Scientists have identified a stem cell injection that could help repair what is currently irreversible damage caused by a heart attack.

Researchers from the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) London centre of regenerative medicine have identified what could be the most effective treatment yet for those who have suffered from coronary diseases.

In research published in Nature Communications on Monday, a team from Imperial College London has discovered a particular type of stem cell that could have the most potential yet for heart regenerative medicine.

The study comes as the BHF celebrates four years of driving cutting-edge research into regenerative medicine through its Mending Broken Hearts Appeal.

More:
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/bc35996b-9a17-4abc-9fe5-d76f49c3e5b9.aspx

[valerief]

1. But...but...Jesus. nt

[Igel]

3. The only fundies opposed to this will be those who oppose any non-emergency medical treatment.

Or those who can't read and foolishly assume all stem cells are embryonic stem cells.

These are adult stem cells in the mice, they're just hard to locate. It's been known for years that some cardiac healing is due to adult cardiac stem cells.

"Cardiac progenitor/stem cells in adult hearts represent an attractive therapeutic target for heart regeneration, though (inter)-relationships among reported cells remain obscure. Using single-cell qRT–PCR and clonal analyses, here we define four subpopulations of cardiac progenitor/stem cells in adult mouse myocardium all sharing stem cell antigen-1 (Sca1), based on side population (SP) phenotype, PECAM-1 (CD31) and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-α (PDGFRα expression...." (http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150518/ncomms7930/full/ncomms7930.html)

It continues but gets opaquer and opaquer with every successive syllable.

(Otherwise, it's rather nice in the abstract to see the word "murine" as the adjective for "mouse." A bit of rhotacism here or there won't hurt anybody. I still wonder about the wisdom of having eyedrops called "Murine," though. Yeccchhhh.)

[immoderate]

2. I frequently look for the country of origin for these revolutionary breakthroughs.

And they are never USA. That's anecdotal, of course, but it seems that there is relatively little deep scientific research being initiated here.

--imm

[itsrobert]

4. We don't need to live forever, we just need to live.

n/t