ABSTRACT
The current pharmacotherapy is inadequate in preventing the progression of ventricular remodeling and congestive heart failure. Cellular cardiomyoplasty, through cell transplantation or regeneration of cardiomyocytes is a potential therapeutic approach to prevent left ventricular remodeling and the development of congestive heart failure after myocardial infarction. Recent research has focused on stem cells, which are undifferentiated pluripotent cells and can differentiate into a wide variety of cells including cardiac myocytes and endothelial cells. The majority data on stem cell transplantation were preclinical animal studies, all showing that stem cell therapy may replace lost heart muscle (myogenesis) and enhance cardiovascular revascularization (angiogenesis and vasculogenesis). These findings have been rapidly applied to human trials, but there were many questions remain to be solved. Although the results are interesting and safe, early phase Ⅰ clinical studies are small in scale and very preliminary. Data from large, randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm the short- and long-term effects of cellular cardiomyoplasty.
