Stem cell therapies in cardiovascular disease: A ‘realistic’ appraisal

The possibility of reconstituting the damaged heart has introduced a new paradigm in cardiovascular biology and created the potential for a new therapeutic approach in the cardiovascular field, where there is a compelling need for innovative treatments. Although the results of animal and early clinical studies are encouraging, the more direct use of cell-based therapies in patients is still long-reached. Gaps in our basic understanding of mechanisms, lack of important randomized, double blind and controlled clinical trials, as well as technology development for cell production are among the challenges to be overcome before full translation of cell-based therapies in clinical arena. This review focuses on summarizing the latest knowledge in stem cell therapy for cardiovascular diseases (CVD).

Section editors:Colin H. Macphee – Department of Vascular Biology, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA, USAAlan Daugherty – Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA