The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is beginning a clinical trial to evaluate the safety and feasibility of a potential treatment for congestive heart failure that involves injecting a patient’s own bone marrow-derived stem cells directly into the heart muscle. The procedure is expected to be performed in five to 10 patients who are scheduled to receive a heart assist device as a bridge to organ transplantation. The stem cell trial is one of only a handful that has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for heart disease. And because most patients in the UPMC study will eventually receive transplants, the trial represents the first time researchers will be able to examine a human heart treated with stem cells, an opportunity that should help solve some of the mystery as well as resolve scientific debate about just how it is that stem cells work to improve heart function.
