What was once thought to be impossible is now a feasible reality: According to a study published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research, an innovative stem cell treatment was able to reverse scarring in heart failure patients by 40%, whereas standard drug therapies have only been able to reduce it within a range of 5-10%.
It is safe to say therefore, that stem cells have successfully been used to treat heart tissue!
As miraculous as it may seem, this small-scale trial has demonstrated it. Later this year there will be a larger trial that will be carried out at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London in order to further prove the effectiveness of this medical breakthrough.
The culprit of this innovative and leading-edge treatment, Celixir, a British regenerative medicine company that delivers these procedures, carried out a medical program that involved injecting adult stem cells into the heart muscle during a bypass surgery.
In the words of Dr. Westaby of the John Radcliffe Hospital, one of the leading members of the medical team that carried out these procedures,
We took these cells and put them into patients and had the most astonishing results. Scarred heart muscle doesn’t really improve at all, so to see that happening was remarkable”.
The cause of heart failure is generally linked to heart attacks, which until this research was made, causes irreparable damage in the heart, such as scar tissue and weakening of the heart muscle. In this state, the heart is no longer capable of effectively pumping blood. Nevertheless, thanks to this research, the reversal of scarring and a likely regeneration of the heart muscle can be achieved.
Medical breakthroughs such as this one have left the medical community facing a matchless chance to prove yet again that nothing is impossible in the realm of regenerative treatments. Back in 2012 and 2013, eleven patients that suffered from severe heart failure received the above-mentioned treatments. After a mere three years, all the patients were still alive, which are results that are unheard of even in a small study such as this one.
It is necessary to mention that the life expectancy for these patients is below the two year lifespan, meaning that it is an overwhelming medical breakthrough that the patients are still with us today.
As of today, heart failure is ranked among those conditions that are considered incurable, causing the death of roughly one third of those admitted to the hospital within the next 12 months. A part of that, the adult stem cells used in this procedure have also appeared to reduce inflammation and foster regeneration. The improvement that patients showed in their heart function was of 30% percent, which is a staggering percentage.
As a final word, we at Verita Neuro have been privileged witnesses to the improvements that Stem Cell treatments deliver. It is an honour to observe first-hand how our treatments manage to improve the lives of our patients and bring new hope to those afflicted by their conditions.
It is therefore safe to say, that breaking news such as this one keep on showing the usefulness of MSCs in medical treatments. We are confident that in the future, more and more studies will further prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Stem Cells have the capacity to heal or at least improve a condition that was deemed incurable and whose symptoms we’re seen as irreparable.
H/T BioNews
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