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Multimodality molecular imaging in cardiac regenerative therapy.
Davis Vo1,2, Patricia K Nguyen3,4,5
1Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
Summary
Stem cell therapy shows potential for heart repair, but recent trials yielded disappointing results. Incorporating molecular imaging to track stem cells may be key to future success in cardiac regenerative medicine.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Regenerative Medicine
- Biomedical Imaging
Background:
- Stem cell therapy offers promise for myocardial repair.
- Recent large-scale trials using adult stem cells have shown disappointing efficacy.
- The effectiveness of stem cell therapy for cardiac regeneration is under scrutiny.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of multimodality imaging in cardiac regenerative therapy.
- To explore how imaging can facilitate the translation of stem cell therapy.
- To address the premature abandonment of stem cell therapy due to trial outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on stem cell therapy in cardiac regeneration.
- Analysis of the impact of molecular imaging on tracking cell fate.
- Discussion of multimodality imaging techniques applicable to cardiac applications.
Main Results:
- Most clinical stem cell trials lack molecular imaging for cell fate tracking.
- The absence of cell tracking may explain some disappointing trial results.
- Multimodality imaging offers a pathway to optimize stem cell therapy outcomes.
Conclusions:
- It may be premature to abandon stem cell therapy for cardiac repair.
- Incorporating molecular imaging is crucial for assessing stem cell therapy efficacy.
- Multimodality imaging can facilitate the successful translation of cardiac regenerative therapies.
