New evidence suggests that a promising investigational treatment for patients with damaged hearts -- using adult stem cells to regenerate heart tissue -- may not work as planned. In the December 2004 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers from the University of Chicago show that although stem cells derived from bone marrow can find their way to areas of damaged heart muscle, infiltrate into these regions and proliferate, they do not mature into new cardiac muscle cells.
New evidence suggests that a promising investigational treatment for patients with damaged hearts — using adult stem cells to regenerate heart tissue — may not work as planned. In the December 2004 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers from the University of Chicago show that although stem cells derived from bone marrow can find their way to areas of damaged heart muscle, infiltrate into these regions and proliferate, they do not mature into new cardiac muscle cells.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041206210424.htm
