Stem cells and their prospects for the future 

I thought I would reverse back to the 'heart' of the human body....the fundamental organ that allows us to pump oxygen and blood around our body non stop! I find the heart totally fascinating; and I thought I would share with you some amazing information about stem cell development research related with our incredible organ- the heart!    

Stem cells are found in a person’s blood, muscles, bone marrow, as well as organs like the brain and liver and also the umbilical cord and menstrual blood.  Stem cells maintain and repair the tissue in which it is found they are also undifferientaed which means they have the potential to differentiate into any type of cell.

this is a good video that shows simple animation about stem cells! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JTw2RpDo9o

In the heart, there is a particular important cell the cardiomyocyte, these contracts to eject the blood out of the heart's ventricle. Also the vascular endothelial cell is very important, this forms the inner lining of blood vessels, and the smooth muscle cell, which forms the wall of blood vessels. They are both important for developing a network of arteries, which carry oxygen and nutrients to the cardiomyocytes after a heart has been damaged. Scientists are interested in developing this ability to provide replacement tissue for a damaged heart.

10 years ago, scientists tested the effectiveness of stem cells in the heart tissue by simulating heart attacks in mice and rats and then repairing the damage with heart cells grown from stem cells. Then in 2001, doctors reported that when they injected adult bone marrow into the damaged wall of the ventricle, the cells formed new cardiomyocytes, vascular endothelium, and smooth muscle cells, the newly formed arteries, arterioles and capillaries replaced the dead tissue with living, functioning tissue. The researchers found that mice that received the transplanted cells survived in greater numbers than mice with heart attacks that did not receive the mouse stem cells.

Then another amazing contribution to medicine occurred in, 2003, sixteen-year-old Dimitri Bonnville became the first human to receive experimental stem cell therapy to his damaged heart tissue. He was accidentally shot in the heart with a nail gun while doing home repair, undergone open-heart surgery and suffered a massive heart attack. He then opted for stem cell therapy to repair his damaged heart.  Doctors at the William Beaumont Hospital in Michigan harvested stem cells from Bonnville’s blood. Using a heart catheter, they transplanted the stem cells into the artery that supplies blood to the front of the heart.  Following the procedure, Bonnville experienced significant improvement in heart function.

Now, Scientists are growing human hearts in laboratories, The experiment is a major step towards the first ‘grow-your-own’ heart. The organs were created by :
1)  First removing muscle cells from donor organs, leaving behind the collagen and connective tissue structure  
2)  Researchers then injected stem cells which thrived dramatically, multiplying and growing around the structure, eventually turning into healthy heart cells.

There is great hope for the future and growing entire organs for transplants.

The Patients will have to take drugs to suppress their immune systems for the rest of their lives; as well as dealing with the increased high risk of blood pressure, kidney failure and diabeties.  But the major advantage is that the patient will less likely reject the heart.
The prospect for the future seems hopefull considering that; in 2007, British doctors grew a human heart valve using stem cells taken from a patient’s bone marrow. However, the race to create a working heart faces many obstacles. But if the experimental heart starts beating, it will be one of the most incredible contributions to modern medicine saving millions upon millions of people’s lives; reinventing 21st medicine.   

                                                   
This video shows the grown stem cell heart in action!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9hEFUpTVPA