Cardiac cells 'heal heart damage'

By James Gallagher Health reporter, BBC News
Heart in chest Many researchers are looking at using stem cells to repair the heart.
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Stem cells taken from a patient's own heart have, for the first time, been used to repair damaged heart tissue, researchers claim.

The study, published in the Lancet, was designed to test the procedure's safety, but also reported improvements in the heart's ability to pump blood.

The authors said the findings were "very encouraging"

Other experts said techniques with bone marrow stem cells were more advanced and that bigger trials were needed.

The scientists say this is the first reported case of cardiac stem cells being used as a treatment in people after earlier studies had shown benefits in animals.

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