This is only an early result from a very small study, but coming on the heels of reports just a few months ago, in which adult stem cells restored heart function to patients with advanced heart failure, the promise of stem cells again got just a bit brighter.

FORBES: Embryonic stem cells: can we make the blind see?

Genzyme is itself involved in a European 300-patient phase II trial that attempts to use skeletal muscle cells from the leg to prevent heart failure.

FORBES: Small Stem Cells Find Big Backers

He added TNF to heart cells and found that TNF decreased their ability to contract, mimicking what happens in heart failure.

FORBES: Chemical Chameleon