Heart attacks and other vascular¹ injuries could eventually be treated using regular injections of magnetised stem cells, experts say.

专家称，心脏病和其他心血管损伤可以通过有规律地注射磁化干细胞而彻底治愈。

The stem cells can repair the heart's damaged arteries²

In animal trials, the cutting-edge treatment delivered the healing cells to the precise（精确地，准确地） site of damage where their help was needed.

Although human tests are needed, a similar magnetic（有磁性的，有吸引力的） approach has been used to guide cancer therapies.

The expert US journal Cardiovascular Interventions³ reports the findings.

Targeted treatment

The idea behind the targeted therapy is to get as many of the reparative stem cells as possible to the area of damage.

To achieve this the UK scientists coated the stem cells with minute magnetic particles.

When these stem cells were injected into the blood stream it was then possible to control their movement using a magnet（磁铁，磁体）.

In trials, the magnetic targeting led to a five-fold increase in cell localisation at a site of vascular（血管的，脉管的） injury in rats.

These same magnetic nanoparticles（纳米微粒） are already approved in the US where they are routinely used as an agent to make MRI scans clearer to read.

Senior author of the study Dr Mark Lythgoe, of University College London, said this meant human trials could begin within the next few years.

He said: "It's feasible（可行的，可能的） that heart attacks and other vascular injuries could eventually be treated using regular injections of magnetised stem cells.

"The technology could be adapted to localise cells in other organs and provide a useful tool for the systemic injection of all manner of cell therapies.

"And it's not just limited to cells - by focusing tagged antibodies or viruses using this method, cancerous tumours⁴ could be much more specifically targeted."

The British Heart Foundation's Professor Peter Weissberg said: "This encouraging research shows that nanomagnets could be used to help therapeutic⁵ stem cells reach specific areas of the body, particularly inside blood vessels⁶ where the blood is flowing fast and at high pressure.

"It is hoped that this strategy could be used to help these cells home-in to the sites of diseased tissue（组织） and improve the chances of repairing it.

"We await further research to find out if, as well as increasing the chances of these cells getting to where they are needed, this strategy can actually speed up the repair process."