San Diego Regenerative Medicine
Institute and Xcelthera announce Dr. Parsons’ Editorial, titled “Mending the broken heart – Towards clinical
application of human embryonic stem cell therapy derivatives” (doi:
10.4172/2155-9880.1000e116), published in current issue of The International Open Access Journal of Clinical
& Experimental Cardiology.
Human
embryonic stem cell (hESC) research holds tremendous potential for tissue and
organ regeneration and function restoration. Clinical applications of hESC
therapy derivatives provide the right alternate for many incurable diseases
& major health problems that the regular mode of treatment cannot. Each
single one of those world-wide major health problems cost the health care
system or taxpayers more than $10 billion annually. In particular, hESC cardiac
derivatives are the only cell source so far that can regenerate the contractile
heart muscle (known as cardiomyocytes), vital for cardiovascular repair.
Due
to the prevalence of heart disease worldwide and acute shortage of donor organs
or adequate human myocardial grafts, there is intense interest in developing
hESC-based therapy for heart disease and failure. Recent advances and
breakthroughs in hESC research have overcome some major obstacles in bringing
hESC therapy derivatives towards clinical applications, including establishing
defined culture systems for de novo derivation of clinically-suitable
stable hESC lines from human blastocysts that have never been contaminated by
animal cells and proteins, and direct conversion of such pluripotent hESCs into
a large supply of clinical-grade functional human cardiac precursors and
cardiomyocytes to be translated to patients for mending the damaged heart. The
availability of human cardiomyocyte derivatives in high purity and large
quantity with adequate potential for myocardium regeneration will facilitate
myocardial tissue-engineering and accelerate the development of safe and effective
cell-based therapy for heart disease and failure that affect millions of
survivors and so far have no cure. It makes
heart disease and failure possible to be the first major health problem to be
resolved by clinical translation of the advances of hESC research. Such
milestone advances and medical innovations in hESC research provide the only hope
to many patients whose life-span is measured in months or years. Further improving policy
making, transparency & fair competition of grant review process
& government funding agencies, and funding situation
for hESC research would drive the advances of medicine to provide new medical
treatments for many devastating and life-threatening diseases.
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