Mathur A, Martin J F
Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Barts and The London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BG, and Queen Mary University of London, Mile End, London, UK.
Lancet. 2004;364(9429):183-92. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(04)16632-4.
Stem-cell therapy provides the prospect of an exciting and powerful treatment to repair the heart. Although research has been undertaken in animals to analyse the safety and efficacy of this new approach, results have been inconclusive. The mechanism by which stem cells could improve cardiac function remains unclear. We describe the background to the concept of natural repair and the work that has been done to establish the role of stem cells in cardiac repair. Controversies have arisen in interpretation of experimental data. The important issues surrounding the application of stem-cell therapy to man are discussed critically. We discuss the future of this pioneering work in the setting of growing concerns about clinical studies in man without understanding the biological mechanisms involved, with the difficulties in funding this type of research.
干细胞疗法为修复心脏提供了一种令人兴奋且强大的治疗前景。尽管已经在动物身上进行了研究以分析这种新方法的安全性和有效性，但结果尚无定论。干细胞改善心脏功能的机制仍不清楚。我们描述了自然修复概念的背景以及为确定干细胞在心脏修复中的作用所做的工作。在实验数据的解释方面出现了争议。对围绕干细胞疗法应用于人类的重要问题进行了批判性讨论。我们讨论了这项开创性工作的未来，鉴于人们日益担心在不了解所涉及的生物学机制的情况下对人类进行临床研究，以及为这类研究提供资金存在困难。
