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Clinically relevant issues in cardiac stem cell therapy
Author(s) -
Wu Joseph C
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.459.1
Subject(s) - clinical trial , cell therapy , stem cell therapy , medicine , stem cell , holy grail , induced pluripotent stem cell , intensive care medicine , engineering ethics , pathology , transplantation , embryonic stem cell , computer science , surgery , biology , engineering , biochemistry , genetics , world wide web , gene
Stem cells have been touted as the holy grail of medical therapy with promises to regenerate cardiac tissue, but it appears the jury is still out on this novel therapy. Recent studies have shown that that these cells do not survive nor engraft long‐term. In addition, only marginal benefit has been observed in large animal studies and human trials. Further application of advanced imaging technology will help scientists unravel the mysteries of stem cell therapy and address the clinical hurdles facing its routine implementation. In this talk, I will discuss how advanced imaging technology can help investigators better define the optimal delivery method, improve survival and engraftment, and evaluate efficacy and safety. Insights gained from this review may direct the development of future preclinical investigations and clinical trials. In addition, I will also discuss how molecular imaging has been used to address clinical hurdles of pluripotent stem cell therapy, focusing on issues such as differentiation, immunogenicity, and tumorigenicty.