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Published on: March 30, 2022
Stem Cell Therapy for the Treatment of Myocardial Infarction: How Far Are We Now?
Rinky A Botleroo1, Renu Bhandari1,2, Rowan Ahmed1
1Internal Medicine, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences & Psychology, Fairfield, USA.
Insights
Stem cell therapy shows promise for heart attack recovery, improving cardiac function safely in most patients. Further large-scale studies are needed to confirm efficacy and optimal treatment timing for myocardial infarction.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Research
- Regenerative Medicine
- Stem Cell Biology
Background:
- Myocardial infarction (MI) leads to poor heart function recovery.
- Stem cell therapy is a developing treatment for cardiovascular diseases.
- Bone marrow cell transplantation shows potential for myocardial remodeling post-MI.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the effects of stem cell therapy in myocardial infarction patients.
- To assess the future potential of stem cell treatments for heart attack recovery.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of 31 studies.
- Analysis of data from 2171 patients with myocardial infarction.
- Literature search conducted on PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar.
Main Results:
- Stem cell therapy demonstrated safety and good tolerability in most patients.
- Modest improvements in left ventricular function were observed with no major adverse effects.
- Some studies reported no significant clinical benefits, highlighting variability in outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Stem cell therapy is safe and potentially beneficial for myocardial infarction patients.
- High-quality, large-scale studies are necessary to confirm efficacy and optimal cell delivery timing.
- Further research is crucial to understand the mechanisms and refine stem cell applications in cardiac regeneration.
Abstract:
Myocardial infarction is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Poor functional recovery of the myocardium is noticed after an event of myocardial infarction. Researchers and clinicians around the world have been engaged to regenerate the damaged human heart for a long time. Stem cell therapy is an exciting newer therapy to treat cardiovascular diseases. Various types of stem cells have been used to revive the damaged myocardium after myocardial infarction, and they have overall demonstrated safety and moderate efficacy. The specific mechanisms by which these cells help in improving cardiac function are still not completely known. There is growing evidence that intracoronary bone marrow cell transplantation in patients with myocardial infarction beneficially affects the remodeling of the damaged myocardium. Our systematic review article aims to assess the effects and the future of stem cell therapy in patients with myocardial Infarction. We searched articles in PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Thirty-one studies that included 2171 patients in total were analyzed. Most of these studies showed stem cell therapy is safe and well tolerated in patients, and modest improvements are seen in left ventricular functions with no major adverse effects. However, some studies showed no positive and clinically significant outcomes. So, more high-quality studies on a larger scale are required to support and confirm its efficacy in remodeling damaged myocardium after myocardial infarction. We should also perform studies to determine the timing of cell delivery that is best suited for stem cell therapy.
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