According to a recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, a single injection of stem cells directly into an inflamed heart can reduce heart attack and stroke by 58%. The study, which included 565 heart failure patients aged 18 to 80 across 51 sites, is the largest clinical trial of cell therapy in patients with heart failure to date.
Half of the patients received mesenchymal precursor cells injections, which have anti-inflammatory properties, directly to the heart through a catheter. The stem cell treatment was found to be highly effective in reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. In fact, researchers found that among patients with high inflammation, the reduced risk went up to 75%.
Lead author Emerson Perin, MD, PhD, medical director at Houston-based Texas Heart Institute, said, “We followed these patients for three years — and what we found was that their hearts got stronger. We found a very significant reduction in heart attack and stroke, especially in the patient that we measured in their blood that they had more inflammation going on.”
This groundbreaking study sheds light on the potential of stem cell therapy in treating heart failure, a condition that affects millions of people worldwide. Currently, heart failure patients have limited treatment options, and many continue to suffer from heart attacks and strokes, which can be fatal.
The use of stem cell therapy in treating heart failure is still in the experimental phase, but this study shows promising results. The anti-inflammatory properties of mesenchymal precursor cells injections have been found to be effective in reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes, and researchers believe that further studies are needed to fully understand the potential of stem cell therapy in treating heart failure.
