Angina Patients Benefit from Own Stem Cells Injection: Clinical Trial

Second phase of a clinical trial found that injections of adult patients' own stem cells reduced reports of angina episodes in angina patients.

Second phase of a clinical trial found that injections of adult patients' own stem cells reduced reports of angina episodes and improved exercise tolerance time in patients with chronic, severe refractory angina (severe chest discomfort that did not respond to other therapeutic options).

The phase II prospective, double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted at 26 centers in the United States, and is part of a long-term collaboration between researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Baxter International Inc.

Chest pain – Causes – Risk Factors – Symptoms – Diagnosis – Treatment
Ask any one who has experienced intense chest pain and they will vouch for the fact that it was the most frightening experience of their life!

The objective of the trial was to determine whether delivery of autologous (meaning one's own) CD34+ stem cells directly into multiple targeted sites in the heart might reduce the frequency of angina episodes in patients suffering from chronic severe refractory angina, under the hypothesis that CD34+ stem cells may be involved in the creation of new blood vessels and increase tissue perfusion.

"Early research across multiple disease categories suggests that stem cells generated within the body in adults may have therapeutic benefit. This is the first controlled trial treating chronic myocardial ischemia (CMI) patients with their own stem cells to achieve significant reductions in angina frequency and improvement in exercise tolerance," said lead investigator Douglas W. Losordo, MD, director, Feinberg Cardiovascular Research Institute and the Eileen M. Foell Professor of Heart Research at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine and director, Program in Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

"While we need to validate these results in phase III studies before definitive conclusions can be drawn, we believe this is an important milestone in considering whether the body's own stem cells may one day be used to treat chronic cardiovascular conditions," added Losordo.