Can Stem Cells Save Dying Hearts?

http://discovermagazine.com/2005/sep/stem-cells-save-dying-hearts/
Summary:

Ruth Pavelko had a blockage which cut off blood supply to part of her heart muscle. She had also suffered three heart attacks and even with thirteen stents to help open her arteries her left ventricle was expanded almost like a balloon. Usually with these kinds of conditions, patients are eligible for a heart transplant or for an artificial heart. But instead Pavelko was given other options at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston. This option was the injection of stem cells that have been extracted from her own bone marrow. The progenitor cells can separate into a few types of cells, some of which can form blood vessels.

When injecting the stem cells into the body it is very important to know where the scar tissue is because if the cells are injected into scar tissue then the stem cells would created more scar tissue. Emerson Perlin has used a 3-D electromechanical mapping devise to determine where the stem cells need to be injected. He has also introduced a catheter into Pavelko's heart which touches the wall of her contracting ventricle. This allows Perlin to see where the contractions are weak and how well they are contracting. Pavelko had about one million stem cells injected into her heart tissue.

The first trial was done in 2000 with the cells taken from the thigh muscle. At first the heart seemed to improve. But then patients developed arrhythmias because the thigh muscle contracted differently. A year later it was reported that stem cells have been extracted from bone marrow from mice and injected into their hearts. The result was 68% improvement in the hearts. Although many believed that the bone marrow would create scar tissue or that when released into the bloodstream they could get caught in narrow vessels causing clots. Despite these concerns 13 of 14 patients were given this procedure and were able to trap and use oxygen better.

The study was further researched on pigs hearts. The pigs hearts were given, first, gel to slow up their arteries. Then the pigs had bone marrow extracted and injected into their hearts. Using X-rays the researcher showed the pigs hearts before and after. The results of which had improved drastically. The FDA is approving a trial in the U.S. at John Hopkins using stem cells in patients who have suffered from heart attacks. These studies are still being researched.

Response:
Wow! Man God is great. To let us be able to use bone marrow to reconstruct our hearts. I can't believe all the research and the information. It is great that instead of artificial hearts or transplants we can use bone marrow. I am awestruck at the fact that God has given us everything we need to cure our diseases, it is just a matter of when we discover His awesome gift.