A clinical study from the University of Utah indicates that a new stem cell therapy can be used to reduce the risk of heart failure and lessen the symptoms of congestive heart failure. Researchers found that the stem cell therapy led to a 37% reduction in the number of people who went to hospital or died from heart failure. This exciting breakthrough has excited many heart specialists and has the potential to save millions of lives.
Utah Senator Ralph Okerlund was one of the people to receive this innovative new stem cell therapy. Senator Overland has had two heart attacks and is suffering from congestive heart failure. He was struggling to perform simple tasks like walking across the street because of the symptoms associated with congestive heart failure.
Dr. Amit Patel, director of Clinical Regenerative Medicine at the University of Utah, gave Senator Okerlund the stem cell treatment to determine how much it could improve the health of his heart.
Dr. Patel describes the process, saying: “We basically took the certain cells that were still alive and put them in a healthy environment and basically had their own body start healing the heart.”
Stem cells were taken from the bone marrow of the patients in the trial before being placed in a bioreactor for 12 days to “supercharge” them. The young stem cells developed while the older and weaker cells died off.
The damaged areas of the patient’s heart were mapped out, then the refined stem cells were injected into those areas. Between 100 to 200 million stem cells were transplanted back into the heart. These cells triggered an immune system response and helped the heart tissue heal itself.
Senator Okerlund says he feels a difference in his everyday life, saying: “I still am not out running races. I won’t be running any marathons with the damage that has been done to my heart, but I feel well enough now that I can kind of do what I want as long as I move slowly.”
Source: Stem Cell Therapy: Supercharge the Heart
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