Adult stem cells little or no help to heart repair

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14925729/

Giving heart attack survivors stem cells from their own bone marrow did little to repair their damaged hearts, according to the three best studies to date of this controversial therapy.

The modest results suggest more study is needed — and, some scientists say, demonstrate the need to lift political limits on using cells from embryos, which offer more promise for turning into heart-repairing tissue.

“The optimal cell type has not been discovered yet,” said Dr. Kenneth Chien, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cardiovascular Research Center, who had no role in the studies.

Chien said experiments in various laboratories over the past 15 years suggest embryonic stem cells show they can turn into beating cardiac muscle, though it has not been tried in human patients. “This is an area worthy of further pursuit,” he said.