Adult stem cells from leg used to treat heart failure

Scientists have announced that by using adult stem cells -- cells from the patient's leg -- they were able to treat patients with heart failure. Nabil Dib, director of clinical cardiovascular cell therapy at the University of California San Diego, points out that one of the most notable aspects of the treatment was how minimally invasive it was. Patients do not even require anesthesia.

From the Communique, a news bulletin sent out by the American Life League, referencing the following article:

"Stem cell treatment could save patients with heart failure," ABC News, 3/26/07, http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2980927&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312)  

RARTL says: If you go to the source article, note that there are some obvious errors in this article.  The researchers probably did not “coax the stem cells to become heart cells” during the process of culturing them; they just wanted to multiply the stem cells.  And it would be interesting to know if the doctor (Hare) was accurately quoted as being concerned that the adult stem cells could provoke tumors, which he mentioned as a possibility along with rejection, since embryonic stem cells are known to cause tumors but adult stem cells are not known to do so.  And this is certainly not among the “first evidence that the much-hyped therapy could have significant clinical benefits.”  Adult stem cells have been used in heart therapy for years now.  Furthermore, adult stem cell therapy hasn’t been hyped at all – it’s been ignored.  It’s the embryonic stem cells that have been hyped and this isn’t embryonic work.

So that the article in some way seems to mix adult and embryonic terminology, making it a little confusing in places.

But overall it’s a good article.

Updated on RARTL April, 2007