Researchers at the Catholic University of Leuven, connected with the University Hospital - Gasthuisberg, the Stem Cell Institute Leuven ( SCIL ), and the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology ( VIB ), have shown that the administration of a patient's own stem cells has a significant positive effect on the heart's recovery: in the patients studied, the size of the infarct was clearly reduced.

The use of stem cells appears to be safe, and to date no side effects have occurred that can be attributed to the stem cells.

This study is published in The Lancet.

In an acute myocardial infarction, the flow of blood from a blood vessel in the heart is blocked, whereby the cardiac muscle receives insufficient oxygen and heart tissue dies.
In many cases, the supply of blood in the deadened portion of the heart can be restored via the so-called balloon technique. But the heart suffers permanent damage, primarily to the left ventricle.

The researchers in Leuven have tested the administration of bone marrow stem cells on patients stricken with acute myocardial infarction.

In the 67 patients of the study, the supply of blood in the heart was restored optimally via the balloon technique. Then, within 24 hours, some patients received an injection of stem cells from their own bone marrow and some received placebo.

Improvement in the global functioning of the left ventricle was comparable in both the control group ( injected with the placebo ) and the group that received the stem cells. But a clear global improvement in function was found in the sub-group of patients who had been afflicted with the most serious infarctions.
Moreover, the reduction of the size of infarct was significantly greater in all patients in the 'stem cell group' and correlates with a better preserved regional left ventricle function.

It is still much too early to conclude that every patient with a myocardial infarction should be treated with stem cells. Indeed, there is still a long road to travel in the development of a medication, and no risks must be taken along the way.

Source: VIB, Flanders Interuniversity Institute of Biotechnology, 2006


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