Inside A Stem Cell Therapy Trial

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SignOnSanDiego.com takes an inside look at a successful trial of a bone marrow stem cell therapy for heart disease. These first generation therapies use the patients own stem cells, and scientists do not yet have a complete understanding as to why they work. "It's not clear, for instance, which type of bone marrow stem cell is specializing into myocytes. Researchers aren't even certain that bone marrow cells actually cross lineages to become heart cells. Rather, the transplanted cells might secrete proteins that spur the division of existing heart stem cells – or perhaps recruit stem cells from elsewhere. Distinguishing one type of cell from another in any tissue is still terribly difficult for scientists, as is tracking where cells and their differentiating progeny wind up."

Link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20050420-9999-lz1c20stem.html