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Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: thedoc on 12/06/2012 19:51:21

Title: Is a stem cell to blame for atherosclerosis?
Post by: thedoc on 12/06/2012 19:51:21
An overlooked cell lurking in the walls of arteries could be the cause of the vascular disease that leads to heart attacks and strokes, new research has revealed.

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Title: Re: Is a stem cell to blame for atherosclerosis?
Post by: CliffordK on 08/06/2012 21:53:00
Most interesting.
There was a special about this on NPR today.

As I was thinking about it, there seem to be two types of tissue repairs in general.  One is the creating of scar tissue, and the second is essentially replacing the damaged tissue with essentially new replacement material.

Perhaps part of the process of tissue repair vs scar tissue formation is partly differentiated stem cells.

Arteries would certainly be better to maintain with original tissue replacement rather than scar tissue formation.

So, is possible that there is a class of general purpose stem cells as part of the response to injury and inflammation? 

Unfortunately, their response in atherosclerosis sounds inappropriate.