MEDICAL RESEARCH Injected stem cells improve function in heart failure

The study offers hope for a new treatment.
By JAN JARVIS
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Injecting an adult's damaged heart tissue with the person's own stem cells significantly improved function in those with congestive heart failure, according to a study.
The findings, which were presented this week at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery's annual meeting in Toronto, offer the first evidence that adult stem cell transplantation could be a viable treatment for congestive heart failure, said Dr. Harold Urschel, chairman of cardiovascular and thoracic surgical research, education and clinical excellence at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.
Pittsburgh connection
The study was presented with colleagues from Pittsburgh and Argentina. Dr. Amit Patel of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine was the principal investigator.
"These are adult stem cells from bone marrow that are given back to the patient," Urschel said. "When they're put into an area that is damaged, the area regrows with new blood vessels and new muscles."
Other studies have shown significant improvement using stem cells but nothing as dramatic as this one, he said.
For more than 5 million people in the United States who have congestive heart failure, the study offers hope for a new treatment. The disease causes about 52,000 deaths annually, with nearly 550,000 new cases diagnosed every year.
The condition
Heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs, according to the American Heart Association. Patients are often treated with medications, pacemakers and transplants, but about half of those diagnosed with heart failure die within five years.
Adult stem cells are found in a few organs and in bone marrow. Some research has suggested that adult stem cells can be used to grow blood cells and repair bone or liver tissue, according to the American Heart Association. About 128 million people worldwide suffer from diseases that might be cured or treated through stem-cell research.
The randomized study involved 20 patients in South America who were the same age and had the same amount of heart damage. All had cardiac bypass surgery. None knew whether they had received the stem cells; 10 received stem cells taken from bone marrow in their hip bones.
Those who received the stem cells showed significant improvement compared with other patients, Urschel said. None of those who received stem cells experienced serious side effects or complications.
More benefits
Because the patient's own bone marrow was used to harvest the stem cells, anti-rejection medications were not needed and the risks associated with transplantation were reduced, Urschel said.
"That's one of the exciting things about this," he said. "The stem cell belongs to you."
Researchers aren't sure if patients get better because the stem cells change into muscle cells or blood vessels or both, Urschel said. Further investigation is needed, he said, adding that Baylor has a grant to study the use of adult stem cells in human patients. In that randomized study, biopsies will be performed on patients' hearts at various stages after the stem cells have been injected.
"Some time this year we will possibly start using adult stem cells in certain individuals, but it is still experimental," Urschel said.