Stem cells taken from human umbilical cord blood reduced heart attack damage in rats, says a University of South Florida study published online this week in Cell Transplantation.The stem cells were injected into the rats’ hearts just after they suffered induced heart attacks. The stem cells greatly reduced the amount of heart damage and restored heart pumping function to near normal. Drugs were not needed to prevent the rats’ immune systems from rejecting the human stem cells.If further animal and human research proves this method is safe and effective, umbilical cord blood stem cells could offer a new way to limit or repair heart attack damage in people, the study said.
