Myocardial regeneration is one of the most promising
therapeutic strategies for heart failure patients. Many experimental
studies have demonstrated that different types
of stem cell can differentiate into myocardial cells and tissues
necessary for regeneration of the damaged myocardium,
while studies in experimental animals suggest that
muscle (myoblast), bone marrow (mesenchymal, endothelial
or hematopoietic progenitors) and even heart cells
can help to improve heart contractility in vivo. These findings
have led several groups to undertake studies in patients
with myocardial infarction. However, the use of cellular
therapy in clinical trials is not without controversy,
mainly related with the need for better knowledge before
these therapeutic strategies are used in clinical practice.
Although significant enhancement of our knowledge of
the processes involved is fundamental, we do not consider
it unreasonable to initiate clinical trials in which specific
questions are posed, whose answers will allow us to
make further progress
