Source: University at Buffalo
Posed: June 12, 2006
Summary:
A stem cell biologist at the University at Buffalo has received a grant from National Institutes of Health to investigate the potential of bone marrow-derived adult stem cells to treat the serious heart malfunction known as hibernating myocardium.
Hibernating myocardium is a condition where heart cells that have experienced reduced blood flow over an extended period of time due to narrowed coronary arteries adapt to this deprivation by down-regulating metabolism while remaining functionally viable.
The researchers will track the cells' progress, evaluate their feasibility, and determine if cells engineering for enhanced survival, blood vessel regeneration and "homing potential" (the tendency to migrate properly to the heart rather than elsewhere) can better improve blood flow and tissue function in hibernating myocardium.
Commentary: Hopefully this study will prove that stem cells are capable of improving heart function, blood circulation and cardiac tissue function for a genetically diverse patient population.
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