Cardiovascular & Haematological Disorders - Drug Targets - Volume 10, Issue 3, 2010

Cell and tissue repair is an essential mechanism not only to the survival of organisms in their constant struggle to preserve homeostasis, but also for the evolution of life in Earth's often harsh environment. In some tissues this ability to regenerate is extremely effective, while in others it is virtually nonexistent. Some organisms, such as the zebrafish and newt, have excellent regenerative capacities and can completely regro Read More

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are a special type of stem cells, derived from bone marrow that can be mobilized to the peripheral circulation in response to many stimuli. EPCs play a crucial role in the vascular repair, as well as in neovascularization processes. Recent studies have shown that EPCs are impaired, both in number and function, in diabetic patients independently of other cardiovascular risk factors. Accelerated ath Read More

A growing number of clinical trials are evaluating the effects of stem cell therapy in patients with chronic ischemic heart dysfunction. As most of the clinical trials included a limited and different number of patients, various stem cell sources and several delivery approaches, results vary substantially between these studies. We analyse whether the assessment of myocardial viability may be important when evaluating effe Read More

Stem cell-based therapies represent a promising therapy for myocardial infarct. Pre-clinical and clinical tests performed in the last 10 years indicate that several types of stem cells and their progenies reduce infarct size and improve cardiac contractile function. The mechanism is dependent on the type of cell and involves a combination of several factors, such as: (i) the formation of new blood vessels, (ii) the relea Read More

With increasing focus on the advance towards curative solutions, it is hard not to be excited by the potential of stem cell-based therapy. Application of the stem cell paradigm to cardiovascular medicine has fostered the evolution of novel approaches aimed at reversing injury caused by ischemic and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. The feasibility and safety of stem cell use has been established in over 3, 000 patients with either rec Read More

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in developed countries. Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the result of hypoxia leading to cardiomyocyte death. This causes loss of function of contractile tissue, which is replaced by non-contractile fibrous tissue affecting left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). One of the current approaches to recover LVEF after an AMI is focused on the search for functional cells to repl Read More

The crucial role played by the endothelium in cardiovascular disorders has been repetitively recognised. Endothelium injury has been implicated in atherosclerosis, thrombosis, hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. Recently, however, research has undertaken a new avenue. As mature endothelial cells posses limited regenerative capacities, the interest has been switched to the circulating endothelial progenitor Read More

Antiplatelet therapy is used to reduce the risk of ischemic events in patients with cardiovascular disease. The balance of benefits and risks of antiplatelet drugs in cardiovascular disease has been evaluated in large-scale randomised trials, however the absolute benefit for an individual patient and a specific platelet-active drug needs further evaluation. Several well-conducted studies have demonstrated a substantial int Read More