Heart failure is the world’s leading cause of death, most of it related to the loss of muscle after heart attacks. In a study partially funded by Washington Research Foundation and Lynn and Mike Garvey, Chuck Murry, M.D., Ph.D., and his colleagues at UW Medicine injected heart cells grown from human stem cells into monkeys’ hearts. New heart muscle grew within the scar tissue, and, in some animals, heart function returned to over 90 percent of normal. The study was published in Nature Biotechnology in July 2018; clinical trials with humans are planned for 2020.
The Promise of Stem Cells
Replacing malfunctioning portions of the body: that’s the promise of stem cell medicine. Learn more about UW Medicine’s vision and goals for stem cell and regenerative medicine.