Stem Cells Heal Hearts Years Later

Up to eight years following a heart attack, bone marrow stem cells from patients with heart muscle damage were still able to increase the function and exercise capacity of the patients, according to a new study.

The study is the first to use stem cell infusions to treat heart patients many months or years after a heart attack. Researchers at the Heinrich-Heine University in Dusseldorf (Germany) harvested bone marrow from the hip bones of the patients to avoid transplant rejection. After being processed, stem cells from the marrow were infused through a catheter into the coronary artery where the heart attack occurred.

"The main results were at least threefold: an improvement in global left ventricular function by 15%, infarction wall movement velocity rose 57%, and there was a significant reduction of infarct size by 30%,” noted Bodo E. Strauer, M.D., of Heinrich-Heine University, who led the trial.

If further trials produce similar results, this treatment may not only reverse some heart attack damage and improve symptoms and daily functioning but might also reduce the risk of heart failure, according to Dr. Strauer. Current interventions such as clot-busting drugs and angioplasty cannot restore damaged heart tissue. Earlier studies on the use of stem cells soon after a heart attack also demonstrated healing and improved function.

"The stem cell therapy demonstrates that restoration is possible, clinically feasible, and associated with an improvement in the performance of the heart by approximately 20-30%,” said Dr. Strauer. "This therapy is safe, similar to an ‘own blood injection or transfusion,' and has no side effects.” He noted, however, that the current trial involved only 18 patients and more research is needed.

The trial results were reported in the November 1, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.




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