In a major breakthrough in heart failure patients, scientists in Britain’s imperial college have discovered stem cell treatment which may provide much relief to heart failure patients heading towards more complex invasive treatments.
A recent study published in an American Heart Association Journal also shows promising results in stem cell treatment for heart failure patients. In view of the rising incidences of heart failure killing about 37 million patients globally, this breakthrough is expected to give a fresh lease of life to the millions of sufferers.
Half of the patients diagnosed with heart failure die within five years of diagnosis, says Professor Figueroa at the Universidad de los Andes in Chile who observed encouraging results in treating heart failure patients with stem cell treatment. It seems that this breakthrough may turn out to be a true savior.
Conventional heart failure management:
Scarring of heart muscle causes severe disruption of electrical signals desynchronizing the normal heart rhythm which ultimately leads to heart failure. This is normally managed by Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy where the heart rhythm is synchronized by pacemaker implantation. The connected wires with the pacemaker carry the electric impulses and help in restoring the rhythm of the heart.
Treatment principle with stem cell: Reversing scarring of heart muscle tissue:
Previously it was assumed that scarring of heart muscle is irreversible and can be managed only through medications or invasive therapies as the ailment progresses. But the stem cell treatment proved otherwise. In this treatment, specially harvested cells are implanted near the scarred tissue which start regenerating new tissues effectively reducing the scarring of heart muscles.
The breakthrough:
Professor Steve Westaby of John Radcliffe Hospital Oxford headed the team of surgeons to this revolutionary treatment which was previously assumed impossible. The five year long trial research initiated in Greece and the efforts ultimately fetched the much desired success.
The trial was conducted in a small group of 100 critical heart failure patients who barely had less than 24 months to survive. These patients were given stem cell injections along with the bypass surgery treatment. Gradually, they showed full recovery heralding a new era of heart treatment which may end the need for complex heart transplantation.
The research at the preliminary stage showed enough indications that specially engineered stem cells known as Heartcels can reduce scarring of heart tissue by 79%.
The miraculous outcome inspiring the research:
Prof Watsbey back in 1999 carried out a major life saving operation on a 4 month old baby girl nearing to death due to a rare heart disease. The professor had no other route to save her but to cut ⅓ rd of the badly damaged portion of the heart. Surprisingly, the heart didn’t stop beating and 14 years later a scan revealed that the heart has healed by itself.
It was concluded that the fetal cells present in the baby’s heart helped in regeneration of the heart with no traces of scarring. This miraculous outcome of such a bizarre operation inspired Prof Watsbey to carry on with his decade long investigation on stem cell treatments for heart failure patients.
A clinical study in Chile:
In another small clinical study conducted at the Universidad de los Andes in Chile with 30 stable heart failure patients aged 18-75 years under optimal medications were infused with umbilical stem cells of healthy donors.
Prof Fernando Figueroa M.D. associated with this study observed in his patients under study:
- A marked improvement in heart’s blood pumping capacity.
- Significant improvement in health status and quality of life.
- No signs of adverse effects or formation of alloantibodies, a common complication observed in patients undergoing blood transfusion or organ transplants.
Previously, researchers have already assessed the potential of heart failure management with stem cells derived from bone marrow but the possible outcome with umbilical cord cells was never evaluated. This clinical study, first of its kind, has shown promising results.
The advantage of the umbilical stem cell treatment:
Apart from its efficacy, the biggest advantage of this treatment is that these cells are widely available and easily accessible. The treatment is minimally invasive and is unlikely to cause any immuno complications. Above all, the treatment does not raise any ethical concern like those related to embryonic stem cells.
If the efficacy of these treatments can be confirmed in larger studies, definitely it can go a long way in increasing the life expectancy of heart failure patients in future.