The Alliance For The Advancement Of Adult Stem Cell Therapy And Research Announces Successful Treatment Of End-Stage Heart Disease With Stem Cells

Main Category: Stem Cell Research
Also Included In: Heart Disease;  Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 23 Jun 2009 - 7:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

Zannos Grekos, MD, Associate Clinical Professor at Nova Southeastern University, has announced six month follow-up results for a patient treated with adult stem cells in a clinical study of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. The clinical study is a collaborative effort among physicians at Regenocyte Therapeutic, an American stem cell therapy clinic; researchers and scientists from Theravitae, a biotechnology company from Israel; and physicians from the American Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Dominican Republic.

Leonard Narracci, 71 from Venice, Florida, underwent the adult stem cell therapy in October 2008. Since being diagnosed with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure, Narracci's ejection fraction was severely reduced at 18% (with normal being over 55%). Within three months of the treatment, his ejection fraction improved to 40% and it is now at 51%.

"It goes against traditional theory that we should try to fix damaged heart muscle, but we are generating new heart tissue with impressive results that improve cardiac function and quality of life," said Dr. Leonel Fernandez Liriano, Professor of Medicine at Pontifical Catholic University School of Medicine (PCUSM), and the head of the cardiology team that treated the patient with adult stem cells.

Grekos states, "After comparing this patient's echocardiogram and MUGA nuclear scans before and after treatment, we are very pleased to see a profound increase in cardiac function."

Regenocyte Therapeutic has treated several similar patients and they are demonstrating correlative improvements. Grekos continues, "We have had success in the ischemic heart disease patients since 2006, and it is encouraging to see that the technology can now be applied to other diseases." Regenocyte Therapeutic is also treating patients with pulmonary hypertension, COPD, kidney disease, peripheral artery disease, and early senile dementia.

Athina Kyritsis, MD, chair of Regenocyte's Scientific Advisory Board, says the patient results are based upon several years of Regenocyte's clinical experience in the treatment of numerous degenerative diseases with adult stem cell therapy. "We have had consistent success in generating viable heart tissue and growing new vessels, treating diseases like cardiomyopathy and peripheral vascular disease. With the increased circulation, healing of wounds and improvement in ejection fractions, it seemed a natural progression to approach cardiomyopathy in the same manner. I believe we have only begun to discover what adult stem cells can accomplish in altering the course of diseases until now thought to be untreatable."

Source
The Alliance for the Advancement of Adult Stem Cell Therapy and Research