Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
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Stem cells can treat heart attacks in pigs
BALTIMORE, Jul 25, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Final results of a study conducted at Johns Hopkins University show stem cell therapy can be used effectively to treat heart attacks in pigs.
Researchers said in just two months, stem cells harvested from another pig's bone marrow and injected into the animal's damaged heart restored heart function and repaired damaged heart muscle by 50 percent to 75 percent.
Two patients have already been enrolled at Hopkins in a Phase I clinical trial designed to test the safety of injecting adult stem cells at varying doses into patients who have recently suffered heart attacks. In total, 48 patients will participate in the study at several sites across the country.
Results are not expected until the middle of next year.
The Hopkins findings appear in this week's online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.