Stem Cells and Blood Vessel Regrowth
EurekAlert! notes that stem cell therapies continue to show promise as a way to regrow damaged blood vessels: researchers have "launched the first U.S. trial in which a purified form of subjects' own adult stem cells was transplanted into their leg muscles with severely blocked arteries to try to grow new small blood vessels and restore circulation in their legs. ... Severely blocked arteries in the leg and sharply diminished blood flow can result in wounds that don't heal, the breakdown of tissue and gangrene. This painful condition is called critical limb ischemia (CLI) and results in the amputation of more than 100,000 limbs every year in the United States. ... An estimated 15 percent of the population will have this disease by the time they reach age 70. ... The stem cells themselves can assemble into blood vessels. They can also secrete growth factors that stimulate and recruit other stem cells to come into the tissue and help with the repair. It's an amazing biology we're trying to leverage in these folks. ... transplanting stem cells into the limbs have shown this approach to be effective in mice and rats. ... Based on that, we think it has a good chance of helping humans."
Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/nu-rts012108.php