Heart and Circulatory Problems – Stem Cell Treatments
Heart and circulatory system disorders and disease are just one of many areas under investigation for potential treatment using stem cells with some studies already showing success in addressing these conditions. Cardiovascular disease may involve high blood pressure, heart enlargement, angina, atherosclerosis, poor circulation, and myocardial infarction (heart attack), amongst others. Problems with the heart and circulation can mean that a patient’s body is not provided with sufficient blood, specifically oxygenated blood, in order to function correctly and may result in weakness, intermittent claudication, ischaemia, and even the loss of limbs if the problem is severe. Poor arterial and blood vessel health are also risk factors for the development of strokes or embolism, along with heart attacks and arrhythmia.
Circulatory Improvements with Stem Cell Therapy
The blood vessels in the body should have smooth and elastic interiors in order to facilitate uninterrupted blood flow and allow for responsive changes in blood pressure as needed. The role of stem cells in maintaining the health of the circulatory system is only just beginning to be more clearly understood, with endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) having received considerable attention in recent months. Findings from studies using stem cells for seemingly unrelated conditions have shown that patients with cardiovascular disease often have low levels of circulating endothelial progenitor cells which likely impact their bodies’ ability to repair and maintain blood vessels over time. The introduction of stem cells into the blood appears to have a regenerative effect on some blood vessels which has made researchers optimistic about the potential to directly treat heart and circulatory conditions with stem cell therapy.
Clinical Stem Cell Trials for Heart Disease
Patients who have suffered a stroke, or a heart attack, those with enlarged hearts, high blood pressure, and/or critical limb ischaemia are just a few of the participants in current clinical research looking at the safety of stem cells for cardiovascular disease. The results of such studies appear promising so far, making stem cell therapy a likely addition to the physician’s arsenal against these conditions. In addition, cardiac myocytes from patients with heart disease are also being studied in the laboratory in aid of new drug development and to potentially create a patient-specific source of induced pluripotent stem cells for further studies or for treatment. Researchers are looking at cardiac stem cell engineering, cellular reprogramming, bioprocessing, and imaging techniques to track stem and progenitor cell activity after insertion into tissue.
Critical Limb Ischaemia and Stem Cells
A recent spate of research published demonstrating positive effects of stem cell therapy for Critical Limb Ischaemia is offering hope where there was little to be had previously. This condition which leads to amputation of limbs in around 25% of cases has been poorly investigated in terms of medication due to the low probability of companies covering their research and development costs with so small a patient base. Stem cell therapy may provide a beneficial treatment for CLI along with a number of other syndromes resulting from peripheral arterial disease making such research look profitable to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. There do however appear to be some considerable concerns over the rapid progression of some therapies from ‘bench to bedside’ as the speed of development is not allowing for the usual considered reflection and analysis which can highlight potential problems. Further studies do need carrying out prior to such treatments becoming standard practice and a better understanding of stem cell mobilization, activation, and activity, including the interaction with the immune system is paramount in ensuring patient safety.
Read More –> Stem Cells to Treat Enlarged Hearts
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