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Stem cells may provide lasting treatment for HF
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Using muscle stem cells from an individual to patch their heart improves symptoms of HF, according to findings from a phase 1 trial.
Shigeru Miyagawa, MD, PhD, of the department of cardiovascular surgery at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan, and colleagues studied 27 patients who had limited exercise capability and were not responding well to common HF treatment.
The researchers made patches out of stem cells from thigh muscles of the participants. The patches were then surgically glued on to the surface of the participants’ hearts.
For patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, improvements were seen from baseline to 1 year in NYHA classification (2.9 vs. 1.9, P < .01) and in the 6-minute walk test. Patients also had reduced serum brain natriuretic peptide levels (baseline, 308 pg/mL; 1 year, 182 pg/mL; P < .05).
There were no major complications during follow-up.
“This phase 1 study found cell-sheet transplantation as a sole therapy to be a feasible treatment for cardiomyopathy,” the researchers concluded. “The promising results in the safety and functional recovery seen in this study warrant further clinical follow-up and larger studies to confirm the therapeutic efficacy of autologous skeletal stem-cell sheets for severe congestive [HF].”
Disclosures: The study was partially funded by Terumo. The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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