Chinese Med J Peking
-
Chinese Med J Peking · May 2008
Extracellular matrix gel is necessary for in vitro cultivation of insulin producing cells from human umbilical cord blood derived mesenchymal stem cells.
Pancreatic islet cell transplantation is an effective approach to treat type 1 diabetes. However, this therapy is not widely used because of the severe shortage of transplantable donor islets. This study investigated whether mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from human umbilical cord blood (UCB) could be transdifferentiated into insulin producing cells in vitro and the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) gel in this procedure. ⋯ Human UCB-MSCs can differentiate into islet like cells in vitro and ECM gel plays an important role in pancreatic endocrine cell maturation and formation of three dimensional structures.
-
Chinese Med J Peking · May 2008
Multicenter StudyInfluence of ambulance use on early reperfusion therapies for acute myocardial infarction.
Ambulance use expedites the definitive treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ambulance use on the administration of early reperfusion therapies for patients with AMI in Beijing, China. ⋯ Ambulances are underused by AMI patients in Beijing. Ambulance use may lead to more frequent and faster receipt of early reperfusion therapies. New public health strategies should be developed to facilitate an increased use of ambulances by AMI patients.