November 26th, 2008

Reports the Tribune-Review:

Human stem cells taken from skeletal muscles can repair damaged heart muscles in mice, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh scientists report in the upcoming Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Johnny Huard, director of the Stem Cell Research Center at Children’s, plans to begin clinical trials in humans next month. The stem cells — called myoendothelial cells — have already been used to repair bladder muscles in women.

The cells were 40 to 50 percent more effective at repairing hearts in mice than previous approaches. The difference seems to be that myoendothelia cells block scar tissue, which can cause a second heart attack and defeat the purpose of the stem cell injections, said Huard.

HealthPoint hopes that there will soon be more news on this topic to post!