New hope for heart attack patients

New hope for heart attack patients

15.11.2011

Heart attack patients can gain new hope thanks to a research group from the USA. Scientists led by Roberto Bolli of the University of Louisville, Kentucky, and Piero Anversa of Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts, have achieved remarkable results in treating heart attack patients through the use of hereditary stem cells.

The treatment procedure
In the recently in the trade magazine „The Lancet“ 23 patients with acute myocardial infarction were included, 16 of whom were treated with the novel stem cell therapy and seven conventional. In this new treatment method, about one million of her own stem cells are supplied to the patient using a balloon catheter. The stem cells were previously harvested from coronary arteries while the patients underwent a bypass operation.

What are stem cells?
The stem cells are cells of the body that can develop into different cell types and types of tissue. For example, embryonic stem cells are able to differentiate into each tissue. However, they occur only in the early stage of the embryo. Adult stem cells, on the other hand, always develop into fixed tissue types, e.g. the hereditary stem cells.

How can stem cells help with heart attacks??
A heart attack (myocardial infarction) usually causes a blood clot in a narrowed part of the coronary artery. This causes a circulatory disorder and leads to the death of parts of the heart muscle. This condition is life-threatening and is one of the most common causes of heart failure in the Western world. The dead tissue of the heart muscle is generally considered to be permanently dead. The researchers were able to observe a reduction in the dead, scarred tissue of the heart muscle by injecting it with the hereditary stem cells.

After just four months, 14 out of 16 patients showed a marked increase in the pumping capacity of the heart. Her heart index, which measures the pumping capacity of the left ventricle, rose 8.9 percent. After one year, the heart's pumping efficiency even improved to a heart index of 12%. In addition to this outstanding result, the patients reported a significant increase in their quality of life. Fatigue and shortness of breath are common symptoms of heart disease and are a major limitation in many people's lives. In the seven conventionally treated patients, neither a physical improvement in the pumping capacity of their heart nor their quality of life could be observed.

Despite successful therapy critical voices
The leader of the study, Roberto Bolli, speaks of a considerable success. Nevertheless, the treatment method still needs to be tested on far more patients in order to make reliable statements. So far, only the Phase I study. For the possible approval of new treatment methods, however, phase I-III must be successful, so that in the case of therapy with hereditary stem cells can only be spoken of a temporary success. Gerd Heusch, University Klinkum Essen, has commented in „The Lancet“ published in which he u.a. critical of the still lacking tight control. (Sb)

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Picture: Gerd Altmann