Source: http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/515371/

By: Cardiovascular Research Foundation

Released: October 18th

An encouraging study has shown that transplantation of bone marrow stem
cells into the heart improves heart function and blood flow in heart attack
patients for up to six months.

An encouraging study presented at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation’s
(CRF) Annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific
symposium has shown that transplantation of bone marrow stem cells into
the heart improves heart function and blood flow in heart attack patients for
up to six months. Among other applications, scientists are currently
investigating these stem cells and their potential in repairing damage or
loss to cardiac cells and tissues due to heart attacks or other heart conditions.
 

Bone marrow mononuclear (stem) cells, or BMMCs, are derived from the soft,
sponge-like marrow found inside bones, and can develop into tissue or new
blood vessels. Patients in this study were treated with stem cells extracted
from their own bone marrow. 

“This kind of success in a relatively new field of interventional cardiology is
very exciting,” said the lead investigator of the study, Yanlin Lee, M.D.,
Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai, China. “These stem cells could be repairing
or replacing damaged or dead cells in the heart muscle, which unlike other
types of cells, cannot divide, repair or replenish themselves.”

After successful emergency treatment for their heart attacks, 29 patients
were randomly assigned to either a control group that received standard
medical treatment, or the bone marrow stem cell transplantation (BMT) group.

In the BMT group, BMMCs obtained from the patient’s own pelvis bone was
injected into the left side of the heart within three hours of extraction of
stem cells. Post-infusion, BMT patients also received standard medical
treatment. The endpoint measurement was the change in overall and left
ventricular function, and the improvement in the flow of nourishing blood
to the heart, as measured by radioactive isotope imaging at six months.
 

Six months after transplantation of the stem cells, the ability of the heart's
main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, to send blood to the rest of the
body had increased by 5.0% in the BMMC group, but decreased by 0.1%
in the control group.

In addition, there was a significant improvement in blood flow to the left
ventricle in the BMT group, as measured by myocardial perfusion, which
helps identify sections of the heart that do not receive enough blood.

Researchers in this study concluded that in patients with acute myocardial
infarction, emergency transfer of BMMCs was safe and effective in improving
function and blood flow in the heart at six months follow-up.

According to Dr. Lee, “The results of this study indicate that the use of bone
marrow stem cells in medical treatment could have great benefits for
cardiovascular patients, but additional studies are needed to fully
understand their potential.”