My Healthy Heart Blogs
Adult Stem Cell Implantation Heals Damaged Heart
08/28/07
Clinical Trials, Treatment Options, Research, General
Six patients were involved in the pilot. Some had suffered heart attacks and others had been diagnosed with heart failure or weakness. The patients experienced significant improvement to their damaged hearts after the stem cell treatment. In fact, some saw improvement of up to 60 percent.
In the study, researchers removed stem cells from a donor's bone marrow and injected them into the damaged area of a patient's heart to improve function and reduce symptoms related to heart disease.
They each had stem cells removed from their own bone marrow, which were cultured and then injected directly into the damaged heart.
“We hope that Mesoblast’s specialist stem cell technology will provide greater hope and better outcomes for patients with severe coronary artery disease who otherwise have very few options for significant improvement or quality of life," said principal investigator Dr. Suku Thambar.
While initial results have been successful, a broader trial is needed before researchers could be sure the procedure was effective.
But preliminary results were positive, with all six patients reporting "significant'' improvement within three months and no negative side effects.
The procedure could have a dramatic global impact on the treatment of heart disease, which is the number one killer of adults.
"People who have a big heart attack would be able to have stem cells injected into the damaged area a few days later,'' Dr. Thambar said.
"It also applies to people who have had previous heart attacks. If we can improve those symptoms then this would relate to a very large group of patients." Hunter Institute Director Maree Gleeson said. She called the research ground-breaking. "It is a new technology that has never been tried before anywhere in the world,'' she said.
Gleeson said the study complied with the Hunter New England Human Research Ethics Committee's ethical standards.
She added most recent stem cell controversy involved embryonic stem cells, whereas those used in the study were adult stem cells harvested from the patients.
Dr. Thambar said the next step would be to broaden the number of trial patients and include a control group.
Sources:
Hunter Medical Research Institute news release
Therapeutics Daily news release
