Cardiac repair with autologous bone marrow stem cells.

All adults have stem cells in their body that can act like embryonic stem cells when given an appropriate stimulus. When VEGF is given, the bone marrow is stimulated to release stem cells, which grow new coronary arteries and also replenish damaged or dead cardiomyocytes. Transplanting autologous bone marrow stem cells into coronary arteries reduced infarct size, improved the prognosis following an acute MI and in patients with chronic congestive heart failure. Since patients are the source of their own stem cells, there would be a ready supply, with no rejection or immunological issues, and political debate on stem cell research would end. It is worth noting that statin therapy stimulates mobilization of EPCs, which repair damaged or dead myocardial cells and stimulate growth of new coronary arteries.