Stem Cell Clinic

Stem cell treatments improve heart function after heart attack

By Stem Cell Treatment

Public release date: 14-Feb-2012
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Contact: Jennifer Beal
healthnews@wiley.com
44-124-377-0633
Wiley-Blackwell

Stem cell therapy moderately improves heart function after a heart attack, according to a systematic review published in The Cochrane Library. But the researchers behind the review say larger clinical trials are needed to establish whether this benefit translates to a longer life.

In a heart attack, the blood supply to parts of the heart is cut off by a blocked artery, causing damage to the heart tissue. The cells in the affected area start to die. This is called necrosis and in the days and weeks that follow, the necrotic area may grow, eventually leaving a large part of the heart unable to contract and increasing the risk of further heart problems. Stem cell therapy uses cells from the patient's own bone marrow to try to repair and reduce this damage. Currently, the treatment is only available in facilities with links to scientific research.

The authors of the review drew together all the available evidence to ask whether adult bone marrow stem cells can effectively prevent and repair the damage caused by a heart attack. In 2008, a Cochrane review of 13 stem cell therapy clinical trials addressed the same question, but the new review adds 20 more recent trials, drawing its conclusions from all 33. By incorporating longer follow up, the later trials provide a better indication of the effects of the therapy several years after treatment.

The total number of patients involved in trials was 1,765. All had already undergone angioplasty, a conventional treatment that uses a balloon to open the blocked artery and reintroduce the blood supply. The review's findings suggest that stem cell therapy using bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMSCs) can produce a moderate long-term improvement in heart function, which is sustained for up to five years. However, there was not enough data to reach firm conclusions about improvements in survival rates.

"This new treatment may lead to moderate improvement in heart function over standard treatments," said lead author of the study, Enca Martin-Rendon, of the Stem Cell Research laboratory, NHS Blood and Transplant at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, UK. "Stem cell therapy may also reduce the number of patients who later die or suffer from heart failure, but currently there is a lack of statistically significant evidence based on the small number of patients treated so far."

It is still too early to formulate guidelines for standard practice, according to the review. The authors say further work is required to establish standard methods, including cell dosage, timing of cell transplantation and methods to measure heart function. "The studies were hard to compare because they used so many different methods," said Martin-Rendon. "Larger trials with standardised treatment procedures would help us to know whether this treatment is really effective.

Recently, the task force of the European Society of Cardiology for Stem Cells and Cardiac Repair received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (EU FP7-BAMI) to start such a trial. Principal Investigator for the BAMI trial, and co-author of this Cochrane review, Anthony Mathur, said, ''The BAMI trial will be the largest stem cell therapy trial in patients who have suffered heart attacks and will test whether this treatment prolongs the life of these patients."

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Originally posted here:
Stem cell treatments improve heart function after heart attack

U-M Human Embryonic Stem Cell Line Placed On National Registry for Researchers

By Stem Cell Medical Center

 

 

Line is first from U-M accepted to the U.S. National Institutes of Health registry, now available for federally-funded research

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Michigan's first human embryonic stem cell line will be placed on the U.S. National Institutes of Health's registry, making the cells available for federally-funded research. It is the first of the stem cell lines derived at the University of Michigan to be placed on the registry.

The line, known as UM4-6, is a genetically normal line, derived in October 2010 from a cluster of about 30 cells removed from a donated five-day-old embryo roughly the size of the period at the end of this sentence. That embryo was created for reproduction but was no longer needed for that purpose and was therefore about to be discarded.

"This is significant, because acceptance of these cells on the registry demonstrates our attention to details of proper oversight, consenting, and following of NIH guidelines established in 2009," says Gary Smith, Ph.D., who derived the line and also is co-director of the U-M Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies, part of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute.

"It now makes the line available to researchers who can apply for federal funding to use it in their work; this is an important step."

The line is the culmination of years of planning and preparation and was made possible by Michigan voters' November 2008 approval of a state constitutional amendment permitting scientists here to derive embryonic stem cell lines using surplus embryos from fertility clinics or embryos with genetic abnormalities and not suitable for implantation.

"We expect these cells will be used by investigators worldwide to enhance our understanding of stem cell biology, and together with disease-specific lines, discover treatments and cures for genetic diseases," says Smith, who is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan Medical School.

U-M is among just a handful of U.S. universities creating human embryonic stem cell lines. There are only 147 stem cell lines available on the registry.

"We envision in the future that investigators will be able to use the genetically normal embryonic stem cell lines like UM4-6, together with disease-specific embryonic stem cell lines, as a model system to investigate what causes these diseases and come up with treatments," says Sue O'Shea, professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, and co-director of the Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies.

U-M also has two other human embryonic stem cells lines submitted to the national registry. Both are disease specific, the first carrying the genetic defect that causes hemophilia B, and the other carries the gene responsible for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a hereditary neurological disorder.

Smith expects to soon submit eight additional human embryonic stem lines for consideration on the national registry: three genetically normal and five new disease specific lines.

This is a historic achievement that will lead to treatments and cures for serious, life-altering diseases and is more evidence that our University of Michigan researchers are leading the world in cutting-edge science that will impact health around the globe, says Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute.

"This is another major step forward for medical science in Michigan. This opens us another avenue for researchers to really begin exploring the causes and progression of those diseases, with the ultimate goal of finding new therapies for patients," says Feldman.

Contributors to the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute's Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies include the Taubman Institute; the Office of the Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs; the Office of the Medical School Dean; the Comprehensive Cancer Center; the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases; the Office of the Vice President for Research; the School of Dentistry; the Department of Pathology; the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology; the College of Engineering; the Life Sciences Institute; the Department of Neurology; and U-M's Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research.

A. Alfred Taubman, founder and chair of U-M's Taubman Institute, called the registry placement a tremendous step for stem cell research.

"I consider stem cells to be a modern medical miracle – the most exciting advance in medicine since antibiotics. The progress we have made throughout the state in stem cell research has been nothing short of remarkable," says Taubman.

"This milestone means much to the University of Michigan and the state of Michigan, but also to the world. It offers another route for researchers to move ahead in studying these horrible diseases. We hope it is the first of many lines that the University of Michigan can contribute to the global efforts to improve human health."

For more information about the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute at the University of Michigan Medical School, visit http://www.taubmaninstitute.org

For more information about stem cell research at U-M, visit http://www.umich.edu/stemcell

 

 

 

 

SOURCE University of Michigan Health System

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See the original post here:
U-M Human Embryonic Stem Cell Line Placed On National Registry for Researchers

UM Human Embryonic Stem Cell Line Placed On National Registry

By Stem Cell Medical Center

ANN ARBOR — The University of Michigan’s first human embryonic stem cell line will be placed on the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s registry, making the cells available for federally funded research. It is the first of the stem cell lines derived at the University of Michigan to be placed on the registry.

The line, known as UM4-6, is a genetically normal line, derived in October 2010 from a cluster of about 30 cells removed from a donated five-day-old embryo roughly the size of the period at the end of this sentence. That embryo was created for reproduction through in-vitro fertilization but was no longer needed for that purpose and was therefore about to be discarded.

“This is significant, because acceptance of these cells on the registry demonstrates our attention to details of proper oversight, consenting, and following of NIH guidelines established in 2009,” says Gary Smith, who derived the line and also is co-director of the U-M Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies, part of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute. “It now makes the line available to researchers who can apply for federal funding to use it in their work; this is an important step.”

The line is the culmination of years of planning and preparation and was made possible by Michigan voters’ November 2008 approval of a state constitutional amendment permitting scientists here to derive embryonic stem cell lines using surplus embryos from fertility clinics or embryos with genetic abnormalities and not suitable for implantation.

“We expect these cells will be used by investigators worldwide to enhance our understanding of stem cell biology, and together with disease-specific lines, discover treatments and cures for genetic diseases,” says Smith, who is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan Medical School.

UM is among just a handful of United States universities creating human embryonic stem cell lines. There are only 147 stem cell lines available on the registry.

“We envision in the future that investigators will be able to use the genetically normal embryonic stem cell lines like UM4-6, together with disease-specific embryonic stem cell lines, as a model system to investigate what causes these diseases and come up with treatments,” said Sue O’Shea, professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, and co-director of the Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies.

UM also has two other human embryonic stem cells lines submitted to the national registry. Both are disease specific, the first carrying the genetic defect that causes hemophilia B, and the other carries the gene responsible for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a hereditary neurological disorder.

Smith expects to soon submit eight additional human embryonic stem lines for consideration on the national registry: three genetically normal and five new disease specific lines.

This is a historic achievement that will lead to treatments and cures for serious, life-altering diseases and is more evidence that our University of Michigan researchers are leading the world in cutting-edge science that will impact health around the globe, says Eva Feldman, M.D., director of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute.

“This is another major step forward for medical science in Michigan,” Feldman said. “This opens us another avenue for researchers to really begin exploring the causes and progression of those diseases, with the ultimate goal of finding new therapies for patients.”

Contributors to the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute’s Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies include the Taubman Institute; the Office of the Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs; the Office of the Medical School Dean; the Comprehensive Cancer Center; the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases; the Office of the Vice President for Research; the School of Dentistry; the Department of Pathology; the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology; the College of Engineering; the Life Sciences Institute; the Department of Neurology; and U-M’s Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research.

A. Alfred Taubman, founder and chair of UM’s Taubman Institute, called the registry placement a tremendous step for stem cell research.

“I consider stem cells to be a modern medical miracle – the most exciting advance in medicine since antibiotics. The progress we have made throughout the state in stem cell research has been nothing short of remarkable,” Taubman said. “This milestone means much to the University of Michigan and the state of Michigan, but also to the world. It offers another route for researchers to move ahead in studying these horrible diseases. We hope it is the first of many lines that the University of Michigan can contribute to the global efforts to improve human health.”

For more information about the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute at the University of Michigan Medical School, visit http://www.taubmaninstitute.org

The rest is here:
UM Human Embryonic Stem Cell Line Placed On National Registry

U-M human embryonic stem cell line placed on national registry

By Stem Cell Medical Center

The line, known as UM4-6, is a genetically normal line, derived in October 2010 from a cluster of about 30 cells removed from a donated five-day-old embryo roughly the size of the period at the end of this sentence. That embryo was created for reproduction but was no longer needed for that purpose and was therefore about to be discarded.

"This is significant, because acceptance of these cells on the registry demonstrates our attention to details of proper oversight, consenting, and following of NIH guidelines established in 2009," says Gary Smith, Ph.D., who derived the line and also is co-director of the U-M Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies, part of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute.

This video is not supported by your browser at this time.

"It now makes the line available to researchers who can apply for federal funding to use it in their work; this is an important step."

The line is the culmination of years of planning and preparation and was made possible by Michigan voters' November 2008 approval of a state constitutional amendment permitting scientists here to derive embryonic stem cell lines using surplus embryos from fertility clinics or embryos with genetic abnormalities and not suitable for implantation.

"We expect these cells will be used by investigators worldwide to enhance our understanding of stem cell biology, and together with disease-specific lines, discover treatments and cures for genetic diseases," says Smith, who is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan Medical School.

U-M is among just a handful of U.S. universities creating human embryonic stem cell lines. There are only 147 stem cell lines available on the registry.

"We envision in the future that investigators will be able to use the genetically normal embryonic stem cell lines like UM4-6, together with disease-specific embryonic stem cell lines, as a model system to investigate what causes these diseases and come up with treatments," says Sue O'Shea, professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, and co-director of the Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies.

U-M also has two other human embryonic stem cells lines submitted to the national registry. Both are disease specific, the first carrying the genetic defect that causes hemophilia B, and the other carries the gene responsible for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a hereditary neurological disorder.

Smith expects to soon submit eight additional human embryonic stem lines for consideration on the national registry: three genetically normal and five new disease specific lines.

This is a historic achievement that will lead to treatments and cures for serious, life-altering diseases and is more evidence that our University of Michigan researchers are leading the world in cutting-edge science that will impact health around the globe, says Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute.

"This is another major step forward for medical science in Michigan. This opens us another avenue for researchers to really begin exploring the causes and progression of those diseases, with the ultimate goal of finding new therapies for patients," says Feldman.

Contributors to the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute's Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies include the Taubman Institute; the Office of the Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs; the Office of the Medical School Dean; the Comprehensive Cancer Center; the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases; the Office of the Vice President for Research; the School of Dentistry; the Department of Pathology; the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology; the College of Engineering; the Life Sciences Institute; the Department of Neurology; and U-M's Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research.

A. Alfred Taubman, founder and chair of U-M's Taubman Institute, called the registry placement a tremendous step for stem cell research.

"I consider stem cells to be a modern medical miracle – the most exciting advance in medicine since antibiotics. The progress we have made throughout the state in stem cell research has been nothing short of remarkable," says Taubman.

"This milestone means much to the University of Michigan and the state of Michigan, but also to the world. It offers another route for researchers to move ahead in studying these horrible diseases. We hope it is the first of many lines that the University of Michigan can contribute to the global efforts to improve human health."

Provided by University of Michigan Health System (news : web)

See the original post:
U-M human embryonic stem cell line placed on national registry

Dog Receives First-Ever Stem Cell Therapy in Kansas City

By Uncategorized

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An 11-year-old yellow Labrador suffering from severe arthritis underwent stem cell therapy on Valentine’s Day. It’s the first time a dog has received in-clinic adult stem cell therapy in Kansas City.

According to Stanley Veterinary Clinic where Jake the dog is being treated, adult animal stem cell technology uses the body`s own regenerative healing power to help cure dogs, cats and horses suffering from arthritis, hip dysplasia and tendon, ligament and cartilage injuries and other ailments.

Fat tissue is removed from the animal, the stem cells are separated from the fat and activated, and then injected into the affected areas.

Within two months of the procedure, Jake should be moving well, with little or no pain.

Severe arthritis affects up to 40 percent of the 164 million dogs and cats in the United States.

As for Jake, FOX 4’s Kim Byrnes will have an update on his condition tonight on FOX 4 News at 5 and 6.

Read more:
Dog Receives First-Ever Stem Cell Therapy in Kansas City

Scarred Hearts Can Be Mended With Stem Cell Therapy

By Stem Cell Treatment

February 14, 2012, 3:17 PM EST

By Ryan Flinn

(Adds comment from researcher in 13th paragraph.)

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Stem cells grown from patients’ own cardiac tissue can heal damage once thought to be permanent after a heart attack, according to a study that suggests the experimental approach may one day help stave off heart failure.

In a trial of 25 heart-attack patients, 17 who got the stem cell treatment showed a 50 percent reduction in cardiac scar tissue compared with no improvement for the eight who received standard care. The results, from the first of three sets of clinical trials generally needed for regulatory approval, were published today in the medical journal Lancet.

“The findings in this paper are encouraging,” Deepak Srivastava, director of the San Francisco-based Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, said in an interview. “There’s a dire need for new therapies for people with heart failure, it’s still the No. 1 cause of death in men and women.”

The study, by researchers from Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, tested the approach in patients who recently suffered a heart attack, with the goal that repairing the damage might help stave off failure. While patients getting the stem cells showed no more improvement in heart function than those who didn’t get the experimental therapy, the theory is that new tissue regenerated by the stem cells can strengthen the heart, said Eduardo Marban, the study’s lead author.

“What our trial was designed to do is to reverse the injury once it’s happened,” said Marban, director of Cedars- Sinai Heart Institute. “The quantitative outcome that we had in this paper is to shift patients from a high-risk group to a low- risk group.”

Minimally Invasive

The stem cells were implanted within five weeks after patients suffering heart attacks. Doctors removed heart tissue, about the size of half a raisin, using a minimally invasive procedure that involved a thin needle threaded through the veins. After cultivating the stem cells from the tissue, doctors reinserted them using a second minimally invasive procedure. Patients got 12.5 million cells to 25 million cells.

A year after the procedure, six patients in the stem cell group had serious side effects, including a heart attack, chest pain, a coronary bypass, implantation of a defibrillator, and two other events unrelated to the heart. One of patient’s side effects were possibly linked to the treatment, the study found.

While the main goal of the trial was to examine the safety of the procedure, the decrease in scar tissue in those treated merits a larger study that focuses on broader clinical outcomes, researchers said in the paper.

Heart Regeneration

“If we can regenerate the whole heart, then the patient would be completely normal,” Marban said. “We haven’t fulfilled that yet, but we’ve gotten rid of half of the injury, and that’s a good start.”

While the study resulted in patients having an increase in muscle mass and a shrinkage of scar size, the amount of blood flowing out of the heart, or the ejection fraction, wasn’t different between the control group and stem-cell therapy group. The measurement is important because poor blood flow deprives the body of oxygen and nutrients it needs to function properly, Srivastava said.

“The patients don’t have a functional benefit in this study,” said Srivastava, who wasn’t not involved in the trial.

The technology is being developed by closely held Capricor Inc., which will further test it in 200 patients for the second of three trials typically required for regulatory approval. Marban is a founder of the Los Angeles-based company and chairman of its scientific advisory board. His wife, Linda Marban, is also a founder and chief executive officer.

“We’d like to study patients who are much sicker and see if we can actually spare them early death, or the need for a heart transplant, or a device,” Eduardo Marban said.

--Editors: Angela Zimm, Andrew Pollack

#<184845.409373.2.1.99.7.25># -0- Feb/14/2012 17:13 GMT

To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Flinn in San Francisco at rflinn@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net

Original post:
Scarred Hearts Can Be Mended With Stem Cell Therapy

Bioheart Acquires Exclusive Rights to Ageless Regenerative Institute's Adipose Cell Technology

By Uncategorized

SUNRISE, Fla., Feb. 14, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bioheart, Inc. (BHRT.OB) announced today that it has acquired the worldwide exclusive rights to Ageless Regenerative Institute's adipose (fat) derived therapeutic cell technology for use in the cardiac field.

"The Ageless adipose stem cell technology will allow us to broaden our portfolio of product candidates for cardiac patients," said Mike Tomas, President and CEO of Bioheart. "We have successfully treated patients in Mexico and now we are ready to expand into the US."

Adipose tissue is readily available and has been shown to be rich in microvascular, myogenic and angiogenic cells. Bioheart has recently applied to the FDA to begin trials using adipose derived stem cells or LipiCell(TM) in patients with chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy. Transplantation of LipiCell(TM) will be accomplished through endocardial implantations with the MyoStar(TM) Injection Catheter under the guidance of the NOGA(R) cardiac navigation system by Biosense Webster, Inc. -- A Johnson & Johnson Company.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bioheart will have a worldwide exclusive license to all of Ageless technology for use in the heart attack and heart failure markets. The agreement provides for upfront and milestone equity payments to Ageless.

Ageless' President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Sharon McQuillan, MD added, "We are excited about this collaboration with Bioheart, a leader in developing cell therapies for cardiovascular disease. Together with Bioheart, we can help to revolutionize cardiovascular medicine and improve the current standard of care for these patients."

About Bioheart, Inc.

Bioheart is committed to maintaining its leading position within the cardiovascular sector of the cell technology industry delivering cell therapies and biologics that help address congestive heart failure, lower limb ischemia, chronic heart ischemia, acute myocardial infarctions and other issues. Bioheart's goals are to cause damaged tissue to be regenerated, when possible, and to improve a patient's quality of life and reduce health care costs and hospitalizations.

Specific to biotechnology, Bioheart is focused on the discovery, development and, subject to regulatory approval, commercialization of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage and peripheral vascular disease. Its leading product, MyoCell, is a clinical muscle-derived cell therapy designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient's heart with new living cells for the purpose of improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients.

For more information on Bioheart, visit http://www.bioheartinc.com.

About Ageless Regenerative Institute, LLC

The Ageless Regenerative Institute (ARI) is an organization dedicated to the standardization of cell regenerative medicine. The Institute promotes the development of evidence-based standards of excellence in the therapeutic use of adipose-derived stem cells through education, advocacy, and research. ARI has a highly experienced management team with experience in setting up full scale cGMP stem cell manufacturing facilities, stem cell product development & enhancement, developing point-of-care cell production systems, developing culture expanded stem cell production systems, FDA compliance, directing clinical & preclinical studies with multiple cell types for multiple indications, and more. ARI has successfully treated hundreds of patients utilizing these cellular therapies demonstrating both safety and efficacy. For more information about regenerative medicine please visit http://www.agelessregen.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: Except for historical matters contained herein, statements made in this press release are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as "may," "will," "to," "plan," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "would," "estimate," or "continue" or the negative other variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Also, forward-looking statements represent our management's beliefs and assumptions only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

The Company is subject to the risks and uncertainties described in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the section entitled "Risk Factors" in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2011.

Read more from the original source:
Bioheart Acquires Exclusive Rights to Ageless Regenerative Institute's Adipose Cell Technology

Stem Cells May Help Regenerate Heart Muscle

By Stem Cell Treatment

A promising stem cell therapy approach could soon provide a way to regenerate heart muscle damaged by heart attacks.

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and The Johns Hopkins University harvested stem cells from the hearts of 17 heart attack patients and after prepping the cells, infused them back into the patients' hearts. Their study is published in the current issue of The Lancet.

The patients received the stem cell infusions about three months after their heart attacks.

Researchers found that six months after treatment, patients had significantly less scarring of the heart muscle and also showed a considerable increase the amount of healthy heart muscle, compared to eight post-heart attack patients studied who did not receive the stem cell infusions. One year after, scar size was reduced by about 50 percent.

"The damaged tissue of the heart was replaced by what looks like healthy myocardium," said Dr. Peter Johnston, a study co-author and an assistant professor of medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "It's functioning better than the damaged myocardium in the control subjects, and there's evidence it's starting to contract and generate electrical signals the way healthy heart tissue does."

While this research is an early study designed to demonstrate that this stem cell therapy is safe, cardiologists say it's an approach that could potentially benefit millions of people who have suffered heart attacks. Damage to the heart muscle is permanent and irreparable, and little can be done to compensate for loss of heart function.

"In the U.S., six million patients have heart failure, and the vast majority have it because of a prior heart attack," said Johnston.

The damaged scar tissue that results from a heart attack diminishes heart function, which can ultimately lead to enlargement of the heart.

At best, Johnston said, there are measures doctors can try to reduce or compensate for the damage, but in many cases, heart failure ultimately sets in, often requiring mechanical support or a transplant.

"This type of therapy can save people's lives and reduce the chances of developing heart failure," he said.

Cardiac Regeneration A Promising Field

Other researchers have also had positive early results in experiments with stem cell therapy using different types of cells, including bone marrow cells and a combination of bone marrow and heart cells.

"It's exciting that studies using a number of different cell types are yielding similar results," said Dr. Joshua Hare, professor of cardiology and director of the University of Miami Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute.

The next steps, he said, include determining what the optimal cell types are and how much of the cells are needed to regenerate damaged tissue.

"We also need to move to larger clinical trials and measure whether patients are improving clinically and exhibiting a better quality of life after the therapy."

In an accompanying comment, Drs. Chung-Wah Siu amd Hung-Fat Tse of the University of Hong Kong wrote that given the promising results of these studies, health care providers will hopefully recognize the benefits that cardiac regeneration can offer.

And Hare added that someday, this type of regeneration can possibly offer hope to others who suffered other types of organ damage.

"This stategy might work in other organs," he said. "Maybe this can work in the brain, perhaps for people who had strokes."

Continued here:
Stem Cells May Help Regenerate Heart Muscle

VistaGen Updates Pipeline of Stem Cell Technology-Based Drug Rescue Candidates

By Stem Cell Treatment

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire -02/14/12)- VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (OTC.BB: VSTA.OB - News) (OTCQB: VSTA.OB - News), a biotechnology company applying stem cell technology for drug rescue and cell therapy, has identified its initial Top 10 drug rescue candidates and plans to launch two formal drug rescue programs by the end of next quarter.

VistaGen's goal for each of its stem cell technology-based drug rescue programs is to generate and license a new, safer variant of a once-promising large market drug candidate previously discontinued by a pharmaceutical company no earlier than late-preclinical development.

"We are now at an advanced stage in our business model," said Shawn Singh, VistaGen's Chief Executive Officer. "After more than a decade of focused investment in pluripotent stem cell research and development, we are now at the threshold where game-changing science becomes therapeutically relevant to patients and commercially relevant to our shareholders. We have positioned our company and our stem cell technology platform to pursue multiple large market opportunities. We plan to launch two drug rescue programs by the end of the next quarter."

Over the past year, VistaGen, working with its network of strategic partners, identified over 525 once-promising new drug candidates that meet the Company's preliminary screening criteria for heart toxicity-focused drug rescue using CardioSafe 3D™, its human heart cell-based bioassay system. After internally narrowing the field to 35 compounds, VistaGen, working together with its external drug rescue advisors, including former senior pharmaceutical industry executives with drug safety and medicinal chemistry expertise, analyzed and carefully narrowed the group of 35 to the current Top 10.

About VistaGen Therapeutics

VistaGen is a biotechnology company applying human pluripotent stem cell technology for drug rescue and cell therapy. VistaGen's drug rescue activities combine its human pluripotent stem cell technology platform, Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube™, with modern medicinal chemistry to generate new chemical variants of once-promising small-molecule drug candidates. These are once-promising drug candidates discontinued by pharmaceutical companies during development due to heart toxicity, despite positive efficacy data demonstrating their potential therapeutic and commercial benefits. VistaGen uses its pluripotent stem cell technology to generate early indications, or predictions, of how humans will ultimately respond to new drug candidates before they are ever tested in humans.

Additionally, VistaGen's oral small molecule prodrug candidate, AV-101 (4-Cl-KYN), is in Phase 1b development for treatment of neuropathic pain. Unlike other NMDA receptor antagonists developed previously, AV-101 readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and is then efficiently converted into 7-chlorokynurenic acid (7-Cl-KYNA), one of the most potent and specific glycineB site antagonists currently known, and has been shown to reduce seizures and excitotoxic neuronal death. Neuropathic pain, a serious and chronic condition causing pain after an injury or disease of the peripheral or central nervous system, affects approximately 1.8 million people in the U.S. alone. To date, VistaGen has been awarded over $8.5 million from the NIH for development of AV-101. The Company anticipates pursuing Phase 2 development for neuropathic pain and other neurological indications, including depression, epilepsy, and/or Parkinson's disease in the event it receives additional non-dilutive development grant funding from the NIH or private foundations.

Visit VistaGen at http://www.VistaGen.com, follow VistaGen at http://www.twitter.com/VistaGen or view VistaGen's Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/VistaGen.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Those risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks related to the success of VistaGen's stem cell technology-based drug rescue activities, ongoing AV-101 clinical studies, its ability to enter into drug rescue collaborations and/or licensing arrangements with respect to one or more drug rescue variants, risks and uncertainties relating to the availability of substantial additional capital to support VistaGen's research, drug rescue, development and commercialization activities, and the success of its research and development plans and strategies, including those plans and strategies related to AV-101 and any drug rescue variant identified and developed by VistaGen. These and other risks and uncertainties are identified and described in more detail in VistaGen's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These filings are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. VistaGen undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

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VistaGen Updates Pipeline of Stem Cell Technology-Based Drug Rescue Candidates

Scarred hearts healed by stem cell treatment after heart attack

By Stem Cell Treatment

By Jenny Hope

Last updated at 1:03 PM on 14th February 2012

Breakthrough: The heart's own stem cells can be used to heal it, according to a new study

The heart’s own stem cells can be used to repair damage caused to it, scientists say.

They help the organ re-grow healthy muscle after a heart attack, a clinical trial shows.

The procedure was found to halve the size of scar left on a patient’s heart muscle and led to a ‘sizeable increase’ in healthy muscle.

Scientists said this discovery challenges a belief that scarring is permanent and that, once lost, healthy heart muscle cannot be restored.

One year after receiving the experimental treatment, scar size was reduced on average from 24 per cent to 12 per cent of the heart.

Patients who did not receive the heart stem cells had no reduction.

Results from the U.S. study, published online in The Lancet medical journal, offer hope for patients with heart failure, where the pumping action is diminished.

Researcher Eduardo Marb?n, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, said: ‘While the primary goal of our study was to verify safety, we also looked for evidence that the treatment might dissolve scar and re-grow lost heart muscle.

‘The effects are substantial, and surprisingly larger in humans than they were in animal tests.’

Shlomo Melmed, dean of the Cedars-Sinai medical faculty, said the treatment could mark a new era in heart medicine. ‘This study shows there is a regenerative therapy that may actually reverse the damage caused by a heart attack,’ he said.

 

As an initial part of the trial in 2009, Mr Marb?n and his team completed the world’s first procedure in which a patient’s own heart tissue was used to grow specialised heart stem cells.

Hope: Researchers from Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, pictured, described the effects of the stem cells as 'substantial'

These cells were then injected back into their hearts. All the patients monitored – with an average age of 53 – had survived heart attacks.

Eight served as controls, receiving conventional care including prescription medicine, exercise recommendations and dietary advice.

The other 17 allocated to receive the stem cells had a minimally invasive biopsy, under local anaesthesia.

Previous trials have shown remarkable results from using stem cells, but they have been taken from different areas of a patient’s body.

Stem cells can become almost any type of cell, but are in short supply in adult organs.

Several thousand patients worldwide have received them from  bone marrow, but this trial seems to confirm cardiac stem cells may be the most effective for heart damage.

Professor Jeremy Pearson, of the British Heart Foundation charity, said the results were encouraging.

 

 

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Scarred hearts healed by stem cell treatment after heart attack

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