Stem cells can repair damaged hearts

Bone marrow stem cells can be used to help the heart that has been damaged after a heart attack repair the injury, a new study finds.

Previous studies had reported that the injection of stem cells extracted from the patient directly into the heart can treat heart attack patients.

The new study, however, benefited from the intravenous infusion of a stem cell product known as Prochymal harvested from a single healthy donor and cultured in laboratories.

According to the study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, stem cells can engraft to the heart and repopulate the dead cells with new live ones in order to treat the parts damaged during a cardiac arrest.

"Stem cell-treated patients had ... significant improvements in heart, lung, and global function,” said lead researcher Joshua M. Hare, adding that an improved heart function was reported following the treatment particularly in those patients with large amounts of cardiac damage.

The technique was reported to be safe without placing patients at a greater risk of suffering from side effects such as cardiac arrhythmias.

Scientists are optimistic that their findings will pave the way for finding new treatments to help cardiac patients.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=112693§ionid=3510210.