(From the Times Online). At some point, folks really have to stop claiming their stem cell based heart therapy trial is the first of its kind. It's already a few years too late for that, especially given that some varieties of therapy are already commercially available. "These patients have had a heart attack and now have heart failure and diminished function. The hope is that stem cells from their own marrow, which have been grown in culture, can repair the damaged area, avoiding the need for replacement. ... In the trial these will be extracted from marrow in patients' pelvises and over three to six weeks hundreds of millions of cells will be grown in the laboratory from a base of 50,000. They will then be grafted into the patients' hearts."
Link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2091-2158381,00.html