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Updated: Jun 25, 2026
Assessing Stem Cell DNA Integrity for Cardiac Cell Therapy
Published on: January 25, 2019
Therapeutic potentials of stem cells in cardiac diseases
B E Strauer1, C M Schannwell, M Brehm
1Department of Cardiology, Pneumology and Vascular Medicine, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Insights
Intracoronary stem cell therapy offers a safe and effective method for regenerating heart muscle damaged by coronary heart disease and heart failure. This approach, using autologous bone marrow cells, shows promise in improving cardiac function regardless of the age of the infarction.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Regenerative Medicine
- Cell Therapy
Background:
- Coronary heart disease and chronic heart failure are prevalent conditions with increasing incidence.
- Current therapies can delay but not prevent or reverse cardiac remodeling and worsening pump function.
- There is a need for effective regenerative strategies for damaged heart muscle.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intracoronary stem cell therapy for cardiac regeneration.
- To assess the potential of autologous bone marrow cells in improving cardiac function.
- To explore stem cell therapy for various heart conditions including ischemic and non-ischemic cardiomyopathies.
Main Methods:
- Intracoronary administration of autologous bone marrow cells or precursor cells.
- Preclinical and clinical trials were conducted to assess outcomes.
- Evaluation of cardiac function improvement post-transplantation.
Main Results:
- Intracoronary stem cell therapy is a safe therapeutic procedure for heart disease.
- Transplantation of autologous bone marrow cells improved cardiac function after myocardial infarction and in chronic coronary heart disease.
- The age of infarction did not significantly affect the regenerative potency of stem cells.
Conclusions:
- Autologous bone marrow stem cell therapy is ethically justified for most patients needing cardiac muscle regeneration.
- This therapy demonstrates efficacy in improving cardiac function in patients with chronic coronary artery disease and heart failure.
- Stem cell therapy is a promising regenerative approach for conditions like dilatative cardiomyopathy and hypertensive heart disease.
Abstract:
Coronary heart disease and chronic heart failure are common diseases and have an increasing frequency. Although interventional and conventional drug therapy may delay ventricular remodelling, there is no basic therapeutic regime available for preventing or even reversing this process. Chronic coronary artery disease and heart failure impair quality of life and are associated with subsequent worsening of the cardiac pump function. Numerous studies carried out in the past few years have demonstrated, that the intracoronary stem cell therapy has to be considered as a safe therapeutic procedure in heart disease, when destroyed and/or compromised heart muscle must be regenerated. This kind of cell therapy with autologous bone marrow cells is completely justified ethically, except for the small numbers of patients with direct or indirect bone marrow disease (e.g. myeloma, leukemic infiltration) in whom there would be lesions of mononuclear cells. Several preclinical as well as clinical trials have shown that transplantation of autologous bone marrow cells or precursor cells improved cardiac function after myocardial infarction and in chronic coronary heart disease. The age of infarction seems to be irrelevant to regenerative potency of stem cells, since stem cells therapy in old infarctions (many years old) is almost equally effective in comparison to previous infarcts. Further indications are non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (dilatative cardiomyopathy) and heart failure due to hypertensive heart disease.
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