Hearty news for stem cells

Adult stem cell pioneer Mesoblast has announced further good results, this time in a pilot trial for heart patients.

Mesoblast has been running the trial at the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle in association with its US-based sister company, Angioblast Systems.

The trial involved six patients suffering from severe coronary artery disease and heart muscle damage who were implanted with their own, or autologous, cultured cells.

Principal investigator Dr Suku Thambar, an interventional cardiologist at John Hunter Hospital and medical researcher with the Hunter Medical Research Institute, said that no cell-related adverse events were seen in any of the six patients followed for up to six months, and that all six had shown improvement in either symptoms of heart failure or in heart function.

"We are extremely encouraged by the degree of improvement in heart function and clinical symptoms in these very ill patients," Thambar said.

Heart muscle recovery was seen in all six patients within three months of cell implantation, and four of the six patients were assessed as having a reduced class of heart failure symptoms, as defined by the New York Heart Association (NYHA) scale for congestive heart failure, Mesoblast reported.

Five of the six patients had reduction in anginal symptoms and use of anti-anginal medications.

The trial also involved device manufacturers Cordis Corporation and Biosense Webster, who provided their latest cardiac catheter technology to deliver the proprietary cultured cells to damaged heart muscle. .

Mesoblast founder, Professor Silviu Itescu, said that both companies were very pleased with the relationship with Cordis Corporation, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, and Biosense Webster, who provided their latest cardiac catheter technology to deliver the proprietary cultured cells to damaged heart muscle.

Mesoblast's founder and chief scientific officer, Professor Silviu Itescu, said all future clinical trials of the technology will focus on allogeneic, or 'off the shelf', stem cell products.