Adult Stem Cells Beneficial in Heart Failure Recovery (1/26/2008)

A study in the Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology published by Wiley-Blackwell shows that administration of adult bone marrow stem cells (BMC) and mesenchymal stems cells (MSC) can aid in the recovery of myocardial infarction (MI) - commonly known as heart attack - and consequently increase survival rates.

The study - "Systemic Delivery of Adult Stem cells Improves Cardiac Function in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats" - is designed to evaluate the impact of systemic delivery of BMC and MSC on spontaneously hypertensive rats induced with MI.

Lead author, Dr. Nardi says "Our research is the first to show this type of stem cell activity in a physiological model of MI, as we used spontaneously hypertensive rats which closely represent the disease in humans."

The treatment with stem cells resulted in statistically different mortality rates - 0% for rats treated with BSC, 17% for rats treated with MSC and 45% for non-treated rats. Rats that were treated also showed significant recovery of heart function and capacity.

"Results suggest that injected BMC can bring about therapeutic effects, especially in tissue regeneration. It speeds up the adaptive remodeling of the heart and consequently increases survival rates", says Dr. Nardi.

Although many studies have shown the potential beneficial effects of stem cell therapies in treatment for heart failure, delivery methods are still under investigation.

Author of the editorial commentary in this issue, John Haynes says "In this issue, Nardi and co-workers have demonstrated significant improvement in cardiac function and reduction in mortality of the rats following the administration of BSC bringing us closer to unraveling the mystery of the stem cell."

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Blackwell Publishing

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