Stem cell-based screening methods may predict heart-related side effects of drugs

Coaxing stem cells from patients to become heart cells may help clinicians personalize drug treatments and prevent heart-related toxicity.

A new review looks at the potential of this strategy, noting that these so-called human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes may be used in screening methods to determine which patients are at risk of experiencing heart-damaging effects of chemotherapy agents and other drugs.

Such screening methods for cardiotoxicity might also help boost the number of drugs that succeed in clinical trials. "Human pluripotent stem cells are poised to revolutionize drug discovery in cardiovascular disease," said Dr. Christine Mummery, senior author of the British Journal of Pharmacology study.