Stem Cell Injections May Help Cardiac Patients

A small trial of 60 patients conducted by in Copenhagen showed that injecting mesenchymal stem cells directly into the heart muscle of the left ventricle provided some improvements for cardiac patients with severe heart failure.  Compared with the placebo injection group, those who received the stem cell injections had significant gains in end-systolic volume, left ventricular ejection fraction, stroke volume, and new cardiac muscle within six months.  The results were presented at a conference of the American College of Cardiology and have not been peer reviewed. Larger future trials will be needed to determine if the improvements can translate to better clinical outcomes for patients. 
[1] Neale, Todd, "ACC: Stem Cell Injections to Heart Promising," medpage TODAY, April 4, 2014.