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news.In a preclinical study, stem cells sourced from umbilical cord blood using ViaCell's proprietary process were shown to significantly improve heart function in an in vivo model of myocardial infarction, or heart attack.
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The study was sponsored by ViaCell and conducted in association with the Toronto General Research Institute at Toronto General Hospital.
Four weeks after cell transplantation, engrafted human unrestricted somatic stem cells (USSCs) were detected in the infarct region of the heart, and the implanted cells were shown to improve regional perfusion and wall motion of the affected region compared to controls. In addition, ejection fraction, a measure of global heart function, increased in the transplant group compared to a decrease in controls.
“Stem cell therapy offers tremendous promise, and I believe that acute myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure are among the diseases that will be the first to benefit from this approach,” stated Dr Nicolas Chronos, chief medical and scientific officer of American Cardiovascular Research Institute, Atlanta. “The research being described in the Circulation article is particularly significant, lending further support to the rationale for the use of stem cells from both related and unrelated donors.”