Hyderabad: Stem cell therapy is the new treatment which scientists and cardiologists are looking towards for the treatment of heart ailments, said Dr Mohan Rao, the director of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the cardiology conference in the city.
Dr Rao explained that earlier it was believed that stem cells are not available in the heart.
But new research is showing that there are stem cells in the heart and this therapy, which has shown good results in other parts of the body, can be used for the heart as well.
He said, “A new heart valve can now be created by growing stem cells on a biodegradable scaffold and in this way, many heart related ailments can be treated effectively.”
Read: New study: Editing genes lowers heart disease risk
This new therapy and its results are showing that cell-based medicines will be the future for the heart as well. It also means that scientists and cardiologists need to work together to research on this subject.
The increasing incidence of cardiac diseases among the population shows that there is a strong need for improvements in medicines as the side effects often lead the disease to a different course.
Dr (Col) M. Sitaram said, “We require medicines with minimum side effects and a better ability to combat the disease. Hence, there is a constant need to improve.”
Currently, bone marrow transplant is the only form of stem cell therapy that is widely used. It has been in use for decades now.
