Reversing Heart Disease With Stem Cells
Clinical tests on persons with severe heart disease have shown that when their own stem cells were injected back into their hearts, their heart disease showed marked improvement. These heart patients regained some of the mobility they had lost as a result of their heart disease and saw a reversal of some of their symptoms.
Heart researchers from Northwestern University and Baxter International, who developed a special device used in the testing. The device extracts stem cells from the patients’ bone marrow and purifies them for re-introduction into the donors’ hearts.The test panel was made up of 167 adults, mostly men, who were divided into test and control groups. All of the men suffered from medium to severe heart disease.The just completed test was Phase Two of a three-part series and many of the heart patients have already experienced reduced angina and increased mobility. Some of the patients had angioplasty at some point in their pasts, or even had open-heart surgery. After they had taken the stem cell treatments, many formerly home-bound heart patients could resume nearly normal activities like going grocery shopping or climbing stairs.
These test results have created a lot of interest and even excitement within their respective medical circles. These results were presented to the American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida last fall. The third and last phase is needed to apply to the FDA for approval, but its start date has not yet been announced. The third and final stage of the tests will involve a sample of several hundred patients.
This is not a precedent as there are similar examples of introducing the patients’ own stem cells into their diseased bodies that help cure their diseases. One disease with similar results is cancer therapy, particularly lymphatic cancer.Amazingly, some persons with spinal cord injuries have regained some of their mobility.
Tags: adult, angina, bone, cancer, cells, clinical, cord, disease, heart, lymphatic, marrow, patients, severe, spinal, stem, tests, treatments
