Over the past decade, cell therapy has emerged as a new approach to reversing myocardial ischemia. Several types of adult stem cells have been studied in both preclinical and clinical conditions for this purpose: bone marrow cells, circulating cells, and myoblasts. Nevertheless, the quest for the ideal "anti-ischemic" cell is still ongoing. Recently, the existence of a population of stem cells located in adipose tissue (adipose-derived stem cells) has been observed. These are able to differentiate into multiple cell lineages including cardiomyocytic differentiation. In this review we discuss the basic principles of adipose-derived stem cells (types and characteristics, harvesting, and expansion), the initial experimental studies, and the currently ongoing clinical trials.

The Seventh International Symposium on Stem Cell Therapy and Cardiovascular Innovations was held in Madrid on the 6th and 7th of May 2010. Gathering for the seventh consecutive year the most relevant researchers and opinion leaders on cardiovascular cell therapy, it has become the most important worldwide event on this field. A comprehensive review of the last developments on cell therapy, surgery for heart failure and tissue engineering was made, and the results of three clinical trials were reported. The Symposium was dedicated to the memory of Professor Helmut Drexler.

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