Dr.
Roberto Bolli, left, and Dr. Sohail Ikram of the University of
Louisville prepare to infuse patient Mike Jones with adult cardiac stem
cells. Photo courtesy of the University of Louisville.It may be premature to give stem cell therapy credit for
curing the number one killer in the United States—heart disease. However,
medical researchers studying this novel treatment method may be on their way:
for the first time ever, stem cells have been shown to ward off heart failure.
The results of a recent trial were published Monday in The Lancet and presented at the American
Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Fla., and show that cardiac
stem cells may be able to regenerate other cells damaged by heart failure.
A research team working at the Jewish Hospital in
Louisville, led by Dr. Roberto Bolli and Dr. Piero Anversa, harvested
cardio-specific stem cells from 16 separate patients who had been diagnosed
with heart failure following a heart attack. After being encouraged to grow in
the lab, these stem cells were then reintroduced to the area of each individual
patient’s heart that had been damaged.
The results showed that those 16 patients, on average,
showed up to triple the improvement that a typical heart attack patient sees.
Mike Jones, the first patient to undergo the treatment, told
ABC News that now he “can do more with my grandkids. I pitched softballs with
my granddaughter for probably 15 minutes today,” Jones said. “I got a little
bit winded at the end, but that's something that before the stem cells would
have been just impossible."
What is so striking about this study is that it may have
disproven a long-held belief in the medical world that once heart tissue has
been scarred, it is irreparable. MRI studies on these 16 patients’ hearts
showed that scarring decreased after the introduction of stem cells.
“If these results hold up in future studies, I believe this
could be the biggest revolution in cardiovascular medicine in my lifetime,"
Dr. Bolli said in a University of Louisville press release.
This is the latest in a series of ongoing stem-cell related
discoveries that have been developing in the past decade or so, and have really
picked up steam in the last handful of years. Some of the highlights:
- May 2005: Researchers at U.C. Irvine use stem cells to partially restore the ability to walk in rats with paralyzed spines.
- October 2006: Scientists at Newcastle University in England create artificial liver cells using umbilical cord blood stem cells.
- March 2008: A study is published showing that knee cartilage can be regenerated using stem cells.
- June 2011: Scientists isolate stem cells from endangered animal species, which could potentially prevent extinction.
It has become fairly clear that stem cell therapy might be
usefully applied in many areas of medicine and science. Among others, a list of
potential stem cell cures might include:
- brain damage
- Parkinson’s disease
- Alzheimer’s disease
- spinal cord injury
- baldness and missing teeth
- heart damage
- vision problems
- Lou Gehrig’s disease
- diabetes
- infertility
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