Failing Stem Cells, Failing Arteries

(From EurekAlert). A common age-related condition has been linked to age-related deterioration in your stem cells: "The progression of the artery-clogging disease atherosclerosis is linked to the inability of specialized bone marrow cells to continuously repair damage to the arterial lining ... It appears that the disease progresses as the body's intrinsic ability to repair and rejuvenate itself somehow becomes deficient. It is exciting for us think that if we as physicians could somehow stimulate or maintain a successful repair process in heart patients, we might be able to prevent the development of atherosclerosis even if we can't completely control other risk factors, such as high lipid levels or hypertension. ... The key is the body's reaction to tissue injury, which appears to be governed by certain sets of genes."

Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-11/dumc-ivr110205.php

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