New bodies created from stem cells.

– the VIII Symposium on Stem Cell Therapy and Cardiovascular Innovations ” is held at the headquarters of the Consejo Superior de scientific research CSIC (c / Serrano 117) in Madrid on 9 and 10 June

Madrid, June of 2011- directed by Prof. Francisco Fernández-AvilésHead of service of Cardiology of the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañon, this scientific event has established itself as the most important meeting of the world on medicine related to the cardiovascular application of stem cells and tissue engineering techniques.
Development of progress on regenerative medicine will have a space in this Symposium as novelty will feature an extensive section especially destined to the critical mass of young researchers, which will have the opportunity to present their latest scientists.

Participation as speakers of more than 60 experts arrived from many countries, the meeting serves to exchange knowledge and develop in-depth discussions on the main developments related to stem cell-based therapy. It analyze both the progress made in this field and the obstacles encountered in the implementation of this type of regenerative therapy in a realistic way.

The topics addressed include the application of genetics in daily clinical practice, developments in the application of stem cells for heart repair. So they analyze and discuss recent advances in animal experimentation and presents the results of various clinical studies in Europe and the USA, which discussed the usefulness in human cells derived from fat, bone marrow and other origins.

Also analyze the biotechnological advances aimed at preventing and combating the heart failure, including the implant of heart valves with catheter, advances in transplantation and preservation of organs and mechanical assistance procedures circulatory. particular importance is the presentation and discussion of advances in applied tissue engineering storiesn, and in particular what has been until now in the manufacture of organs or tissues bioartificial through decelularización and recellularization of structures derived from body procedures.

Prof. Francisco Fernández-Avilés

another aspect of great importance is the pulmonary hypertension. Rare but devastating, disease that requires an effort of research and innovation essential. This issue raises issue that surrounds this old drama and there is the potential role that can be played in it stem cells and other innovations.

Prof. Francisco Fernández-Avilés, Director of the Symposium had stressed that cell therapy for cardiac regeneration has advanced dramatically, but remains still at a preliminary stage with a level of development that depends on available cells of the clinical situation facing patients.

In patients with acute myocardial infarction is where most has matured this kind of treatment. We know that cells derived from bone marrow in these patients are safe and produce a significant additional benefit on the heart function compared with standard therapy. Under its seventh framework programme, the European Union has funded more than 6 million Euros from a pan-European study on a large scale in which, with the participation of 31 research groups in 21 countries, consider the impact of this therapy on survival and quality of life of 3000 patients. The results of this study will finally define the usefulness of this treatment ”.

Fernández-Avilés also pointed out that in patients with chronic heart disease the maturity of this type of research is not so great. It is known that cells can be applied with relative ease and total security and has progressed a lot in the development of systems of navigation and catheters which allow safe and accurate way to implement these treatments in these high risk patients. However, although some derivatives of the fat cells show encouraging results, the effects on the heart function are more subtle than those observed in patients acute in these patients the destroyed tissue is very large. You need cells with greater plasticity. Hope in this field are the iPSCs (induced pluripotent cells) ”

for patients with terminal heart disease Fernández-Avilés Prof says that isolated from stem cells administration plays no role or will play it ever, given that this situation has lost functioning heart tissue and three-dimensional structure which holds. The injection of cells in this situation not never fix the problem. In this type of patients the only alternative to the conventional transplantation is the application of tissue engineering to obtain organs bioartificial from decelularizadas and recelularizadas body structures. Advances that are taking place in this field are enormous, but we are more incipient phase of what will be the development ”.

East VIII Symposium on Stem Cell Therapy and Cardiovascular Innovations ” is organized by the service of Cardiology of the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón (Madrid), with the collaboration of the Institute of Sciences of the heart (ICICOR) of the Hospital Clínico-Universitario of Valladolid, the thematic network Research Cardiovascular of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (RECAVA), the thematic network of therapy cell of the Institute of health Carlos III (TERCEL), the Group of Cellular therapy applied to myocardial infarction (TECAM – Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, the Institute of biology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Valladolid and the Institute of Sciences in the heart of the Hospital Clínico-Universitario of Valladolid) and the European society of Cardiology (Task Force on Stem Cell Regeneration of the) (Heart).