| abstract |
Improving cell therapy and tissue regeneration in a patient suffering from a cardiovascular or a neurological disease by treating a tissue of the patient with shock waves and/or applying to the patient a therapeutically effective amount of stem cells and/or progenitor cells. Such treatment increases expression of chemoattractants, pro-angiogenic factors, and pro-survival factors. The chemoattractants can be, for example, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or stromal cell derived factor 1 (SDF-1). For example, the treated tissue can be located in the patient's heart or in a skeletal muscle of the patient, and the shock waves can be extracorporeal shock waves (ESW) or intracorporeal shock waves. The cardiovascular disease can have an ischemic or non-ischemic etiology. For example, the cardiovascular disease can be a myocardial infarction, ischemic cardiomyopathy, or a dilatative cardiomyopathy. For example, the neurological disease can be a peripheral neuropathy or neuropathic pain. |