The Advancing Field of Cell‐Based Therapy: Insights and Lessons From Clinical Trials

Stem cell therapy aimed at restoring organ function, notably myocardial repair and regeneration postmyocardial infarction (MI), is one of the most exciting and promising frontiers of medical research. While new pharmacotherapies and advances in interventional cardiology have significantly reduced the mortality of ischemic heart disease and heart failure, there remains an ongoing need for innovative cellbased therapies that can prevent or reverse cardiac ventricular remodeling post-MI. Although questions remain on how to best implement cell-based interventions, a growing number of preclinical studies and clinical trials have demonstrated the safety of a variety of adult stem cell types. This review will focus on the collective progress in cardiovascular regenerative medicine, with particular emphasis on the findings from the most recently published or announced clinical trials: the