Stem Cells Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Stem Cells, including details on research, transplants, therapy, benefits.

Human umbilical cord derived stem cells for the injured heart.

Wu KH, Yang SG, Zhou B, Du WT, Gu DS, Liu PX, Liao WB, Han ZC, Liu YL

Pediatric Cardiac Center, Department of Surgery, Cardiovascular Institute and Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 167 Beilishi Road, Beijing 100037, China.

The limited ability of the heart to regenerate damaged tissue following a myocardial infarct results in progressive dysfunctions and consequently leads to heart failure. Cell therapy with stem cells for cardiac repair is emerging as an alternative strategy and demonstrates promising results. Recent advances suggest human umbilical cord may be a new source for stem cells. Human umbilical cords are easy to obtain and umbilical cord derived stem cells can be easily extracted and cryopreserved, allowing for individuals to store their own samples for possible future autologous use even if there were no immediate indication that stem cell therapy would be required. Therefore, we hypothesize that human umbilical cord derived stem cells may be the new cell source for the injured heart.

Published 6 November 2006 in Med Hypotheses, 68(1): 94-7.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2009 Stem Cells Research Today. All Rights Reserved.