Study Will Test Stem Cells Against Heart Attack

British team hopes treatment will improve patient outcomes

FRIDAY, June 22, 2007 (HealthDay News) -- 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.

"We have elected to use a very promising stem cell type selected from the patient's own bone marrow. This approach ensures no risk of rejection or infection. It also gets around the ethical issues that would result from use of stem cells from embryonic or fetal tissue," researcher Dr. Raimondo Ascione, consultant cardiac surgeon at the University of Bristol, said in a prepared statement.

"Current treatments aim to keep the patient alive with a heart that is working less efficiently than before the heart attack. Cardiac stem cell therapy aims to repair the damaged heart, as it has the potential to replace the damaged tissue," Ascione said.

In this study, all 60 patients will have bone marrow harvested before their bypass operation. During their surgery, either stem cells from their bone marrow or a placebo will be injected into the patients' hearts. The researchers will then compare outcomes in the two groups of patients.

More information

The American Heart Association has more about life after a heart attack.

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