Patient’s Own Stem Cells May Preserve Heart Muscle After Heart Attack
A national clinical trial being conducted exclusively at Methodist Hospital may significantly advance the treatment of cardiovascular disease by using a patient’s own bone marrow stem cells to regenerate heart muscle.
Stem cells obtained from the bone marrow can differentiate or transform into other types of cells, including muscle, nerve and other tissues. This ability has prompted clinical trials investigating the role of these bone marrow stem cells in conditions including brain and spinal cord injuries and heart conditions, including heart attacks and congestive heart failure.
Many patients suffer long-term damage to their heart muscle after having a heart attack. This study will determine if injecting specialized cells collected from bone marrow into the coronary artery that caused the attack can preserve blood flow and heart muscle function. Studies have shown that individuals who have had a moderate or severe heart attack are significantly more likely to have chronic heart problems, such as heart failure, than individuals who have had a mild heart attack.
The PreSERVE-AMI Study is for patients who have received a stent to open the blocked artery after a specific type of heart attack that results in compromised pumping function of the heart. If the patient consents to be part of the clinical trial, bone marrow is harvested from the pelvic bone of the patient and sent for purification. Within seven to eleven days after the heart attack the cells are injected into the artery. Patients are closely monitored during the injection. They then receive standard care and in six months their hearts are re-scanned.
“By using the patient’s own stem cells, we may be able to restore heart muscle in patients that previously was considered irreversibly injured,” said Nandish Thukral, M.D., principal investigator.
“This clinical trial also illustrates how collaborations between different specialties, in this case cardiology and stem cell transplantation, help move forward innovative, cutting edge technologies,” added Carlos Bachier, M.D., stem cell transplant physician and co-investigator.
The PreSERVE-AMI Phase II trial at Methodist Hospital is currently enrolling patients. It is a randomized double blind placebo controlled phase II trial. The study is sponsored by Amorcyte. LLC. Dr. Thukral and Dr. Bachier are part of the Texas Institute for Medicine and Surgery at Methodist Hospital.
Patient Profile
James Mason, 49, was treated for his fifth heart attack last week at Methodist Hospital. Surgeons inserted two stents. Over the years, he has had a defibrillator inserted in his chest, open heart surgery, and a total of five stents inserted around his heart.
Mason said he had his first heart attack at age 42. He said he was not feeling well on a Friday. He complained of stomach pain and swelling in his arm. When he went to his doctor on Monday, he was told he had experienced a heart attack. “For me, it was not at all as dramatic as it is on TV,” he said. “Since I have had five heart attacks all together, I agreed to enter the clinical trial because even if I receive the placebo, I have nothing to lose.”
Mason is among the first patients to participate in this clinical trial. Anyone who thinks they might be a candidate, should contact Cardiology Clinic at 210-614-5400 or email Dr. Thukral at nandish.thukral@hcahealthcare.com.