Adult and Pluripotent Stem Cells: Potential for Regenerative Medicine of the Cardiovascular System

There is hardly an area of research developing so quickly and raising so many promises as stem cell research. Adult, embryonic and recently available induced pluripotent stem cells not only foster our understanding of differentiation of endo-, ecto- and mesodermal lineages to all organs of the body, but foremost nourish the hope that cells grown in culture can be used for regeneration of diseased organs such as the heart damaged by myocardial infarction. This book focuses on perspectives of stem cells for regenerative therapy of cardiovascular diseases. Based on the EC consortium INELPY, it reviews the field and disseminates major outcomes of this project. Thus it introduces the reader to this fascinating area of research and incorporates very recent findings interesting to the expert, spanning the field from bench to bedside. The compilation of contributions is unique as there is yet no similar comprehensive overview combining stem cell research with preclinical and clinical evaluation as well as engineering of tissue patches for transplantation. As such it will be an invaluable source of information for all researchers in the stem cell and tissue regeneration field including bioengineers as well as for all clinicians interested in regenerative therapies, especially for ischemic cardiomyopathies.