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news.Patients with advanced heart failure significantly improved after receiving stem cell therapy, according to results of a small clinical trial presented as late-breaking news at the annual meeting of the International Society for Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery.
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The study showed, 30 days after receiving the stem cells by injection into their hearts, patients improved an average of 41% in their hearts’ pumping efficiency and the distance they could walk nonstop increased by 72% in a standard test widely used to assess heart patients.
After 90 days, the heart-pumping improvements were sustained and patients further improved the distance they could walk in the standard test, by an additional 16% compared to 30 days and doubled compared to baseline.
The study is the first to use human fetal-derived stem cell therapy in patients with heart failure. The surgical procedure was performed at Luis Vernaza Hospital in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Advanced heart failure is an incurable and usually fatal condition; other than heart transplantation, current medical treatments cannot reverse the course of the disease, and only slow its progression or help control its symptoms.
“This is the first-ever study to use human fetal-derived stem cell therapy in patients with heart failure and, though from a small group of patients, the results are very compelling and demand additional research,” said Dr Valavanur Subramanian, chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City and the study’s senior investigator.
“It was especially gratifying to see these patients, many of whom couldn’t walk more than a short distance without losing their breath, improve their ability to perform physical activities that are a part of everyday living.”