First study transplanting angina patients' purified stem cells shows safety and symptom relief

The first U.S. study to transplant a potent form of purified adult stem cells into the heart muscle of patients with severe angina provided evidence that the procedure is safe and produced a reduction in angina pain as well as improved functioning in patients' daily lives, reports the lead researcher at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.

Within three to six weeks after the severe angina patients were injected with their own stem cells, many who used to experience pain just from walking to the refrigerator, now only had pain when they climbed two flights of stairs.

This is the first human trial in which patients' own purified stem cells, called CD-34 cells, were injected into their hearts in an effort to spur regrowth of small blood vessels that constitute the microcirculation of the heart muscle. Researchers believe the loss of these blood vessels contributes to the pain of chronic, severe angina.

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Tags: angina, CHD, heart failure, Feinberg school of medicine, CD-34 Cells

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Study Will Test Stem Cells Against Heart Attack

In a first-of-a-kind study, patients who've recently had a major heart attack and are undergoing coronary bypass surgery will be injected with selected stem cells harvested from their own bone marrow.

The study of 60 patients by researchers at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom will examine whether those stem cells can repair heart muscle cells damaged by heart attack. Specifically, the researchers want to determine if the stem cells can prevent late scar formation and the impaired heart contraction that can result from that scarring.

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Tags: Stem Cells, CHD, heart attack, bone marrow, University of Bristol, heart study

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'Off-The-Shelf' Vascular Grafts Developed

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine investigators have engineered artificial blood vessels from muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs) and a biodegradable polymer that exhibit extensive remodeling and remain free of blockages when grafted into rats. The results of their study, which was presented at the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) North America Chapter meeting at the Westin Harbor Castle conference center in Toronto, has potentially significant implications for the treatment of heart and kidney diseases, where there is a critical need for new sources of blood vessels for vascular grafts.

The saphenous vein taken from a patient's leg continues to be the most commonly used graft for coronary artery bypass grafting even though a significant percentage of vein grafts eventually fail. Arterial grafts are the preferred conduits because they are less prone to becoming obstructed. However, they are in very limited supply, as many patients require multiple grafts. Thus, there is an ongoing search for the ideal small-caliber arterial substitute for revascularization procedures.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=74498

Tags: stem Cells, Artifical Blood Vessels, MDSC, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society, TERMIS, Arterial grafts, saphenous vein

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