14/06/2011

"There are harmful cells in the vascular bed than can cause changes in heart repair or degeneration of this body. This means, among others, osteoblasts. It is one of the main conclusions of the roundtables moderated by Dr. Manuel Galiñanes, head of reparative therapy of the heart group at Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) in the VIII International Symposium on Stem Cell Therapy and Cardiovascular Innovations held in the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas in Madrid. For Dr. Galiñanes, head of cardiac surgery at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, the discovery is important because "until now what had been studied was the ability of cells to repair myocardial damage, but seems there are cells that are producing harm".The symposium also discussed about the identification of patients who are more protected against myocardial injury and others who are more susceptible to this damage, the microRNA therapy as an alternative to cell therapy for cardiac repair, and developments regarding the bioengineered tissue.