Scientists have shed light on a common bleeding disorder by
growing and analysing stem cells from patients’ blood to discover the cause of
the disease in individual patients.
The technique may
enable doctors to prescribe more effective treatments according to the
defects identified in patients' cells.
In future, this approach could go much further: these same
cells could be grown, manipulated, and applied as treatments for diseases of
the heart, blood and circulation, including heart attacks and haemophilia.