NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists Monday said they have developed an efficient method for obtaining heart stem cells from tiny amounts of biopsied heart tissue.
The development, which was presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions meeting in New Orleans, opens the possibility of using a patient's own stem cells to repair heart damage due to a heart attack or heart disease.
The stem cells found in heart tissue are known as adult stem cells and are different from embryonic stem cells.
In the study, which involved 23 patients with heart failure, researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore inserted a probe into a vein in the neck that leads to the heart. Using this technique, they removed from the 23 patients a small sample of heart tissue that contained heart stem cells.
The stem cells were then grown in lab dishes to amplify them to levels that would conceivably be adequate for therapy.
The cell clusters grown in the lab dishes are called cardiospheres. In additional experiments, the scientists found that pig cardiospheres helped grow new heart cells that would be beneficial for treating heart failure.
