U.S. Heart Patient Sees Improvement After FDA-Approved Experimental Stem Cell Treatment

An Alexandria, Va. (USA), resident diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy in 2007 underwent successful treatment using his own stem cells in an FDA-approved procedure that has improved his heart’s ability to pump blood and boosted his energy level for the first time in years. The patient agreed to try the stem cell procedure as part of a special Phase II test after heart catheterization, as well as pacemaker and defibrillator implants, failed to improve his condition. He was also rejected for a heart transplant. Physicians injected the patient’s own (autologous) specially-processed bone marrow-derived stem cells directly into the heart muscle. Researchers will monitor the patient’s condition, along with that of others in the test, for a year before expanding the testing to wider populations.

By David Dinsmore, “Patient No. 1: Alexandria man first to receive new stem cell heart treatment in U.S.”, August 25, 2009, © TheTowntalk.com (Alexandria, Va.)