Infusing stem cells into the coronary arteries of heart attack patients can help to reduce the extent of tissue damage and improve cardiac function, say researchers from JW Goethe University of Frankfurt in Germany. Dr Stefanie Dimmeler and colleagues isolated stem cells from the bone marrow or blood of 28 heart attack patients. Four days later, the researchers infused the stem cells back into the patient via the coronary artery that had caused the heart attack. Results showed that the area of damaged heart tissue fell significantly during the four days following infusion. What’s more, patients experienced improvements in cardiac function relative to the reduction in tissue damage. Before infusing the stem cells, the researchers tested their migratory capacity – that is the cells ability to respond to chemical signals produced by the body. These, and further tests led Dimmeler to conclude that the extent to which the infused cells reduce tissue damage is dependent upon the migratory capacity of the cells and not the number of cells that are infused.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Circulation, Oct 2003; 10.1161/01.CIR.0000095788.78169.AF.
Published online before print October 13th 2003.
