INJECTING heart attack patients with stem cells taken from their bone marrow really does aid their recovery. Previous trials in animals and people have suggested the technique is beneficial, but the latest is the first to directly compare patients given stem cells with others who were not.
Sixty patients in Germany had operations to unblock their coronary arteries after suffering heart attacks. Thirty of them also had stem cells extracted from their own bone marrow injected into the damaged artery. Six months later, MRI scans showed that the left ventricles of these patients were on average pumping 6 per cent more blood around the body than those of the patients who did not get the stem cells (The Lancet, vol 364, p 141). No one suffered side effects.
It may not sound like much of an improvement, says team leader Helmut Drexler of the Medical University of Hannover, but he expects it to translate into noticeable benefits. All the patients are still being monitored and will have an 18-month follow-up in September.
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What鈥檚 not yet clear is exactly how the stem cells aid recovery. It was thought they formed new heart muscle cells but recent studies have cast doubt on this. It may be that they help repair arteries or release growth factors instead. 鈥淣o one really knows at the moment,鈥� Drexler admits.