Stem-cell use promising in heart failure and heart attack victims.

Much controversy has been made over use of stem-cell research and the use of stem cells in the treatment of multiple potentially curable medical conditions such as liver and kidney disease as well as a wide variety of cardiac conditions. While stem-cell research has been for the most part restricted in the United States other countries are cultivating the endless potential of what is promising to be life-saving therapy.

Picture from www.mirm.pitt.edu accessed on December 14, 2008

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can be molded and shaped to grow into just about anything. These cells can be used to grow healthy heart tissue to replace previously damaged tissue of non-functional heart muscle. Recently several fronts of research regarding stem-cell use in heart failure patients as well as patients who have suffered heart attacks have been published. These studies are small and many questions remain to be answered, but the results so far are nothing short of astounding. We briefly discuss the findings below in hopes of educating our readers about stem-cell research and its benefits.

A small study published in the Circulation Journal early last year looked at patients in the short period after a heart attack. Injection of stem cells into the previously occluded artery resulted in significant increases in the ejection fraction (the fraction of blood pumped by the heart with each heart beat) as well as tissue functionality in the area of infarction. Simply put, patients who received the therapy benefited from increased regeneration of the heart tissue and faster healing as well as better function of the heart muscle itself and less long-term damage to the heart.

Meanwhile studies are ongoing in much of Europe, including Spain and Russia regarding use of stem cell injections to control the progressive syndrome of heart failure. As the condition progresses it is associated with decreased function of the heart and scar formation. The condition can be terminal and affects millions worldwide. Small studies indicate the injection of stem cells from the bone marrow can help prevent scar formation and allow the heart to remain functional.

Finally, one dramatic use of the stem cells to treat a heart injury has been recently described in Reader’s Digest (surely not the most scientific and accredited journal, but with solid sources for this particular story). The article described a young man who suffered a shot with a nail gun into his heart during work at a construction site. The injury resulted in severe failure of the heart muscle so that living into adulthood became a questionable proposition. That’s when doctors injected stem cells into the heart tissue which set off a healing cascade so impressive that the boy’s ejection fraction has returned to almost normal levels.

Much about the stem cells still remains unknown. While most of these procedures have proven very safe, we still don’t know how long the healing effects last and if the recoveries they induce are permanent or transient. Nevertheless, perhaps its time for us to reconsider how we do research with these valuable therapies and catch up to researchers around the world.

Web Site: http://www.diagnosisheart.com

Additional Notes:
Sim EK. Jiang S. Ye L. Lim YL. Ooi OC. Haider KH. Skeletal myoblast transplant in heart failure. Journal of Cardiac Surgery. 18(4):319-27, 2003 Jul-Aug.

Belenkov IuN. Ageev FT. Mareev VIu. Savchenko VG. [Mobilization of bone marrow stem cells in the management of patients with heart failure. Protocol and first results of ROT FRONT trial]. Kardiologiia. 43(3):7-12, 2003.

Reffelmann T. Kloner RA. Cellular cardiomyoplasty--cardiomyocytes, skeletal myoblasts, or stem cells for regenerating myocardium and treatment of heart failure?. Cardiovascular Research. 58(2):358-68, 2003 May 1.

Reffelmann T. Leor J. Muller-Ehmsen J. Kedes L. Kloner RA. Cardiomyocyte transplantation into the failing heart-new therapeutic approach for heart failure?. Heart Failure Reviews. 8(3):201-11, 2003 Jul.

Prosper Cardoso F. Herreros Gonzalez J. Alegria Ezquerra E. Stem cells to regenerate cardiac tissue in heart failure. Revista Espanola de Cardiologia. 56(10):935-9, 2003 Oct.