A new study has revealed that young stem cells may be able to reduce the aging process in the heart.

A recent study conducted at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute has revealed that when older mice were injected with stem cells taken from the hearts of newborn mice, the older mice showed marked improvement in heart functionality over a control group.

According to a report published in the European Heart Journal, when injected with cardiosphere cells, the test group of mice could exercise up to 20 percent longer than the control group, regrew hair at a faster rate and had longer heart telomeres.

Telomeres are ribonucleoprotein complexes that are attached to the extremities of chromosomes and shrink with each cellular replication. This means as we age, our telomeres naturally shrink with time - and they can play a key role in the healing of the heart. In fact, a 2016 study by the Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research found that following heart trauma, the longer the patient's telomere, the better the chance of survival.

Dr. Naota Hashimoto of La Quinta, California, uses stem cell therapy to treat his patients. He says stem cell treatments such as the one conducted at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute are becoming increasingly popular for treating a variety of ailments, from common to complex.

"We already use adult stem cells to treat everything from autoimmune illnesses to arthritis," he says. "Heart functionality seems like a natural next step."

Though stem cell therapies for heart functionality found success with animal subjects, they are not yet ready for testing on human subjects, nor are researchers aware exactly how long the effects of the stem cell treatments will last on the mouse subjects.

"The authors of the study need more time to tell if these cells actually extend the life span of the body, or if the benefits only extend to the heart," says Hashimoto. "If successful, it could be a promising way to treat everything from muscular dystrophy to heart disease, and it could save a substantial number of lives."