A simple injection may boost failing hearts and improve the quality of life for millions of people with heart disease. The new treatment creates new blood vessels from stem cells that replace damaged ones in the heart.
Scientists at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney, Australia, injected patients with the G-SCF hormone which caused the body to release stem cells. Stem cells are undifferentiated "master cells" that have the potential to become almost any type of specialized cells. The new stem cells form new blood vessels which reduce pain and shortness of breath in patients by increasing blood flow to the heart.
"The 20 patients trialing the innovative treatment responded extremely positively," said Bob Graham, executive director of the research institute.
"Most experienced a reduction in angina and found they were able to reduce their intake of pain relief with marked improvements in some patients.
"This is an incredible result, especially when you consider that many of these patients had already undergone multiple surgeries to try and correct the heart defects and were on the maximum doses of conventional medicine."
Additional trials are planned which will involve more patients. If they are successful, the treatment may be available in three years.
The American Heart Association estimates that over 79 million Americans have some sort of cardiovascular disease.
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