September 21, 2006 New England Journal of Medicine studies

Unlike liver cells, heart cells can not regenerate. This is one of the major challenges in the management of heart disease. The damage to heart muscles can lead to ballooning of the heart. This can lead to symptoms of congestive heart failure. The weak heart muscle is also prone to rhythm problems leading to sudden death. This has lead to the studies involving injection of bone marrow derived cells into the damaged areas of the heart. The hope is that these cells will nest the damaged area, grow into heart cells and strengthen the weakened area.

September 21, 2006 issue of New England Journal of Medicine has three studies involving injection of bone marrow derived cells into the heart arteries.

One study from Oslo involved injection of bone marrow derived cells into the heart arteries of patients who came with a heart attack. This study did not show any advantage of these cells as far as strengthening the heart muscle is concerned.

Second study involving patients with heart attack did show some positive effects of bone marrow derived cells.

The third study from Frankfurt involved patients who had had heart attack at least three months prior to the study. This study also showed some improvement in the pumping power of the heart in patients who got bone marrow derived cells.

Earliest possible reestablishment of the blood flow is corner stone of treatment of heart attack victims. This is done to minimize permanent damage to the heart muscles. I think a lot more work needs to be done before reliably effective form of treatment described above becomes commonly available. Once it does, it will be one of the major developments in the field of cardiovascular medicine.