Biochemical Judo

Some of the best medical research today makes use of existing biochemical mechanisms and cellular systems within the body - let them do the heavy lifting for a therapy that is comparatively simple to put in place. Here is an example of the type from a study on rats published in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery: "Our data demonstrate that intravenously infused embryonic stem cell-derived cells homed to the [damaged] heart, improved cardiac function, and enhanced regional blood flow at 6 weeks after myocardial infarction. ... such a homing mechanism could be associated with locally released cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor [alpha], that are upregulated in the setting of acute myocardial infarction and heart failure." Inject stem cells, get results - there are many hurdles (and years) between here and commercialized, reliable therapies of this sort, but I can think of worse goals to aim for.

Link: http://jtcs.ctsnetjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/131/4/889