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Published on: May 25, 2020
Stem cell therapy in heart failure: Where do we stand today?
Nandini Nair1, Enrique Gongora2
1Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA.
Insights
Stem cell therapy shows promise for heart failure (HF) treatment, particularly when combined with revascularization for ischemic cardiomyopathy. Further research is needed to optimize stem cell use in dilated cardiomyopathy and understand co-morbidities
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Regenerative Medicine
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Heart failure (HF) is a global health crisis affecting millions worldwide, significantly reducing lifespan and quality of life.
- Current HF treatments are etiology-dependent and, if untreated, lead to rapid disease progression.
- Stem cell therapy represents an emerging, yet nascent, therapeutic strategy for managing heart failure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and highlight clinical studies on stem cell therapy for various types of cardiomyopathy, including ischemic, dilated, and restrictive.
- To assess the efficacy and potential benefits of stem cell interventions in different heart failure contexts.
- To identify challenges and future research directions for optimizing stem cell therapy in cardiovascular disease.
Main Methods:
- Review of clinical studies focusing on stem cell therapy in ischemic, dilated, and restrictive cardiomyopathy.
- Analysis of combined approaches, such as simultaneous revascularization and stem cell administration.
- Evaluation of factors influencing stem cell therapy outcomes, including cell type, delivery, timing, and patient co-morbidities.
Main Results:
- A combined strategy of revascularization and stem cell therapy demonstrated maximum benefit in ischemic cardiomyopathy.
- Stem cell treatment for dilated cardiomyopathy shows potential but requires further definition regarding delivery methods and cell types for reproducible results.
- Patient co-morbidities, especially diabetes and glucose metabolism abnormalities, can impair stem cell mobilization and influence therapeutic efficacy.
Conclusions:
- Stem cell therapy holds significant promise for treating heart failure, with combined approaches showing particular efficacy in ischemic cardiomyopathy.
- Optimizing stem cell therapy for dilated cardiomyopathy necessitates further research into delivery routes, timing, and cell selection.
- Investigating the biochemical microenvironment and its impact on stem cell function is crucial for enhancing treatment effectiveness and overcoming variability in patient responses.
Abstract:
Heart failure is a global epidemic that drastically cuts short longevity and compromises quality of life. Approximately 6 million Americans ≥20 years of age carry a diagnosis of heart failure. Worldwide, about 40 million adults are affected. The treatment of HF depends on the etiology. If left untreated it rapidly progresses and compromises quality of life. One of the newer technologies still in its infancy is stem cell therapy for heart failure. This review attempts to highlight the clinical studies done in ischemic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy and restrictive cardiomyopathy. A combined approach of simultaneous revascularization and stem cell therapy appears to produce maximum benefit in ischemic cardiomyopathy. Treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy with stem cells also holds promise but needs more definition with regards to timing, route of cell delivery and type of cell used to achieve reproducible results. The variability noted in response to stem cell therapy in patients could also be secondary to their co-morbidities. Abnormalities of glucose metabolism and diabetes in particular impair stem cell and angiogenic cell mobilization. This opens up a whole new area of investigation into exploring the biochemical microenvironment which could influence the efficacy of stem cell therapy. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Stem Cells and Their Applications to Human Diseases edited by Hemachandra Reddy.
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