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Stem cells aid heart attack recovery: Lancet

      Washington: A new study published in the Lancet has revealed that administration of a patient's own stem cells has a significant positive effect on the heart's recovery after a heart attack. Doctors at the Catholic University of Leuven, connected with the University Hospital - Gasthuisberg, the Stem Cell Institute Leuven (SCIL), and the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), are publishing a major breakthrough in the treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction. Their research shows that the administration of a patient's own stem cells has a significant positive effect on the heart's recovery.

    The use of stem cells appears to be safe, and to date no side effects have occurred that can be attributed to the stem cells. This study which was published in The Lancet reveals that in an acute myocardial infarction, the flow of blood from a blood vessel in the heart is blocked, whereby the cardiac muscle receives insufficient oxygen and heart tissue dies. In many cases, the supply of blood in the deadened portion of the heart can be restored via the so-called balloon technique. But the heart suffers permanent damage, primarily to the left ventricle. The researchers in Leuven have tested the administration of bone marrow stem cells on patients stricken with acute myocardial infarction. Collaboration among the cardiology, hematology, radiology and nuclear medicine services yielded an unparalleled study in which state-of-the-art technology was used to investigate changes in the left ventricle, blood supply and heart metabolism. Improvement in the global functioning of the left ventricle was comparable in both the control group (injected with the placebo) and the group that received the stem cells. But a clear global improvement in function was found in the sub- group of patients who had been afflicted with the most serious infarctions. Moreover, the reduction of the size of infarct was significantly greater in all patients in the 'stem cell group' and correlates with a better preserved regional left ventricle function.
-Jan 10
, 2006

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