Stem cells for "self-treatment" of the heart

In the USA, for the first time, stem cells of his own heart were transplanted to a patientMedPage Today News: First Stem Cell Transplant Directly from Heart Tissue Reported
For the first time, American surgeons transplanted stem cells taken from his own heart to a patient.

The procedure was performed under the supervision of Eduardo Marban by specialists of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, California.

The essence of the new technique is that stem cells are transplanted into the damaged area of the heart muscle, from which healthy tissue subsequently develops. A fragment of a heart muscle measuring several millimeters is used for transplantation.

Access to the heart for tissue sampling is carried out using a catheter through the patient's cervical veins under local anesthesia.

The first patient to have such an operation was a 39-year-old man. A blockage of one of the coronary vessels caused damage to 21 percent of his heart muscle.

During the first phase of clinical trials, Dr. Marban plans to perform 24 such operations. After these interventions, specialists will monitor the condition of patients for six months. The preliminary results of the studies will be ready by the end of 2009, and the final ones – only at the end of 2010.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru03.07.2009