Stem Cell Model for Long-QT Syndrome May Spark New Avenues for Heart Research

IDSK -- Pluripotent stem cells, derived from skin fibroblasts of two relatives with familial long-QT syndrome and induced to differentiate into cardiac myocytes, exhibited the electrophysiologic traits of the disorder, showing for the first time that stem cell models “can recapitulate aspects of genetic cardiac diseases,” according to a small study reported in the Oct. 7 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.