Heart Disease Can Be Treated With Patients’ Own Cells

A recent study from Northwestern University in Chicago has shown that transplanting adult stem cells into the heart muscle of subjects with severe angina — chest pain due to blocked arteries — lessens pain and improves the ability to walk.

Subjects’ own purified stem cells (CD34+ cells) were injected into their hearts to foster growth of small blood vessels that make up the microcirculation of the heart; the loss of this circulation, researchers believe, contributes to the pain of chronic, severe angina.

This study is the first to show that a person’s own stem cells can be used to treat their heart disease, said Dr. Douglas Losordo, the principal investigator and director of the program in cardiovascular regenerative medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He is also the director of the Feinberg Cardiovascular Research Institute.

“This is the first study to show significant benefit in pain reduction and improved exercise capacity in this population with very advanced heart disease,” Losordo said. An estimated 1 million people in the United States suffer from severe angina; about 300,000 can’t be helped by traditional medical treatments. The subjects in the study had chest pain from basic activities, such as from brushing their teeth or even resting.

The Phase II, 25-site trial with 167 subjects, requires verification in a larger study — but it is a sign of hope that non-embryonic stem-cell research may become the norm. It already is in California, as this recent Register article indicates.