Stem cell therapy may reduce heart attack and stroke risk in certain heart failure patients, new study shows

CNN
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A new study shows that cell therapy containing adult stem cells from bone marrow reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients with severe heart failure.

A single injection of adult stem cells directly into an inflamed heart via a catheter may reduce the long-term risk of heart attack or stroke by 58% in heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction. suggests researchwas published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The study is called the largest clinical trial of cell therapy to date in patients with heart failure, a serious condition that occurs. when the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs.

“We followed these patients for several years, three years, and we found that their hearts were stronger. We saw a significant reduction in heart attacks and strokes. In particular, When we measured the blood, it was more pronounced in patients who had more inflammation going on.” Texas Heart Institute in Houston.

“The effect was there for everyone, but it was even more significant for patients with inflammation,” Perrin said.

Treatment includes injections mesenchymal progenitor in mind. These particular stem cells have anti-inflammatory properties and may improve outcomes in heart failure patients, as elevated inflammation is a hallmark of heart failure patients. chronic heart failure.

is more than 6 million US adults They have chronic heart failure, most of which are treated with medications to manage their symptoms. The patients included in the new study were all taking medications for heart failure, and the new study suggests that cell therapy may be beneficial when used in combination with heart failure medications.

“As you can imagine, we all use drugs to help us stay better, and now we have a cure that actually addresses the cause and calms it all down. So this line of research has a really great future, and confirmatory trials show that it can bring this kind of treatment into the mainstream.

“We can treat heart failure differently,” he said. “We have a new weapon against heart failure. This research really opens the door and is leading the way for us to get there.”

New Research – Sponsored by Australia Biotech company Mesoblast – 565 heart failure patients with weakened myocardium between the ages of 18 and 80 were included. Patients were screened between 2014 and 2019 and randomly assigned to receive cell therapy or placebo treatment at 51 study sites in North America.

Patients who received cell therapy had about 150 million stem cells delivered to their hearts through catheters. Cells were obtained from the bone marrow of 3 healthy young adult donors.

Researchers at the Texas Heart Institute and various other institutions in the United States, Canada and Australia monitored each patient for heart-related events and life-threatening arrhythmias.

Compared with patients who underwent sham surgery, those who received stem cell therapy showed a small but statistically significant strengthening of the heart’s left pump chamber muscle within one year.

The researchers also found that cell therapy reduced the risk of heart attacks and strokes by 58% overall.

“It’s a long-term effect, lasting an average of 30 months. That’s why we’re so excited,” Perrin said.

Researchers found that patients with high levels of inflammation in their bodies had an even greater reduction in combined heart attack and stroke risk of 75%.

“These cells directly deal with inflammation,” Perin said.

“There are very few receptors for these inflammatory substances, some called interleukins, others,” he said. “If you put them in an inflamed heart, the cells are activated, and the cells say, ‘Wow, we have to respond. This house is on fire. We need to put out the fire. secrete a drug.”

The researchers wrote in their study that their findings should be considered “hypothetical” in that they show that this cell therapy concept might work. Clinical trials are needed to specifically confirm the effects of these stem cells on heart attack, stroke, and stroke. Other events. It is not yet known how long the effects of stem cell therapy will last beyond his 30 months and whether the patient will need more stem cell injections in the future.

Overall, there were no significant differences in adverse events reported between patients receiving cell therapy and those in the control group, and researchers reported no major safety concerns.

“We have taken a giant step forward in harnessing the true power of adult stem cells for cardiac therapy,” said Perin. “This trial really signals a new era.”

For over 10 years, Scientists have been studying potential stem cell therapies However, more research is needed to determine whether this therapeutic approach can reduce the amount of hospitalizations, emergency care events, or complications in heart failure patients.

Cardiologist Nieka Goldberg, M.D., medical director of Atria, New York City and associate professor of clinical medicine at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, who was not involved in the new study, said the new study didn’t find it. rice field.

A new study reveals that “there may be people who may benefit from stem cell therapy, especially those with inflammation.”

“It’s actually an interesting treatment, an interesting thing to look at, and studies have demonstrated its benefits. There’s more than one thing going on with heart failure, and especially with the inflammatory component, this is an interesting treatment.” “It may play a role in heart failure patients with inflammation.”

The effects of the treatment on heart attack and stroke risk were “positive,” said Brett Victor, Ph.D., a cardiologist in Philadelphia, who was not involved in the study, said in an email.

“Specifically, patients who received stem cell therapy were less likely to have a heart attack or stroke over the next two-and-a-half years, especially when laboratory tests revealed a higher degree of systemic inflammation.” It’s noticeable in patients,” said Victor. In an email, he adds that this shows how heart failure has an important inflammatory component.

These “positive signals” are likely to be further evaluated in subsequent studies, Victor said.

“Current treatments for heart failure, including lifestyle changes, a growing list of good medicines, and device therapy, will remain the standard of care in the short term,” he said. We believe this trial will continue to advance this field in cardiac cell therapy research as we continue to look for ways to not only treat this disease, but actually find a cure.”