8/30/2010 PERMALINK
Using bone marrow stem cells to treat critically ill patients on verge of respiratory failure. Item: Researchers are reporting new evidence of the therapeutic potential of stem cells derived from bone marrow for patients suffering from acute lung injury, one of the most common causes of respiratory failure in intensive care units. "We found that these stem cells secreted a significant quantity of a protein that restored the barrier that keeps fluid and other elements out of the lungs," said Jae W. Lee at the Cardiovascular Research Institute of the University of California, San Francisco. "We're optimistic about the promise that future clinical trials may hold."