Eydawn Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 This blew my mind. To think that a fetus donates stem cells to repair cardiac damage in a mother... study done in mice. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/11/21/helpful-mouse-fetuses-naturally-send-stem-cells-to-mom-to-fix-her-damaged-heart/ Tell me what y'all think! Wendy CO EMT-B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
systemet Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Link to the paper (not sure if you need university access). http://circres.ahajournals.org/content/early/2011/11/11/CIRCRESAHA.111.249037 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFIB Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Fetal maternal stem cell transfer sounds like God takes care of mom. Pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERBIE1 Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Fascinating stuff. Stem cells appear to be the cutting edge of medicine, and their uses almost limitless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnatomyChick Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 I'm a big fan of Stem Cell Research. I agree with Herbie that it is definitely cutting edge. Only time will tell the diversity of diseases that Stem Cells can help with, but as a Medical Professional I'm excited to see the progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
systemet Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 The neat thing with this paper, was they seemed to show that the fetal cells were able to integrate into the myocardium, and couple electrically without causing arrhythmias. A problem with a lot of the research in this area, including a lot of the clinical trials with humans, is they haven't (to my knowledge) been able to show that the stem cells actually do this. There's a fair risk of the stem cells forming tumors, as they divide quite rapidly (de-differentiation to a stem cell-like state is part of tumorigenesis). It's also been shown in some studies that the benefit from stem cell treatments appears to be a result of signalling molecules secreted by the cells, rather than new functional cardiomyocytes forming. Then, when they have had limited success in introducing cells into the myocardium, there tends to be a risk that they form ectopic units. Obviously the potential benefits to these sort of therapies are immense. It's a shame that so much of the research has been held back by a prohibition on federal funds being used for stem cell research in the US. And that, even now, pro-life groups are trying to pass laws that would prevent the use of any fetal-derived material in biomedical research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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