Mathematical modeling of the action of stem cells on damaged heart tissues

An ischemia of the heart muscle (myocardium) gives rise to ischemic heart disease, which can lead to a myocardial infarction and eventually heart failure. The pathologies are characterized by a gradual loss of cardiomyocytes (myocardial cells), with the consequent reduction in cardiac function. The heart has only a limited deposit of endogenous cardiac stem cells, which are capable of regenerating only small tissue lesions. Stem cell transplantation into damaged myocardium is a potential strategy to restore heart function by gradually reducing and repairing necrotic tissue. This project proposes the use of mathematical models based on partial differential equations of the parabolic type with initial conditions and with free boundary conditions, as well as the numerical simulation for the action of stem cells in the recovery of damaged cardiac tissues, with the in order to make it easier for clinicians to make predictions to optimize more effective therapy protocols.