Timothy O’Brien, director of the Regenerative Medicine Institute (Remedi) in NUI Galway (Ireland) , is preparing tests involving 10 patients suffering from chronic heart conditions. They will have stem cells grafted on to their hearts, to see if this helps to repair the damage organs, avoiding the need for replacement. This would be the first ever human trial of stem cells on heart patients is to be carried out in Galway.

Cardiovascular disease is the largest cause of deaths in Ireland — accounting for 39% of fatalities in 2003.
It is hoped that gene therapy will prove so successful that it will eventually do away with invasive operations and organ transplants. The beauty of this treatment is that it would not be limited by the number of donors available.

Remedi’s 70 researchers work exclusively with adult stem cells. In the trial these will be extracted from marrow in patients’ pelvises and over three to six weeks hundreds of millions of cells will be grown in the laboratory from a base of 50,000. They will then be grafted into the patients’ hearts.

Remedi’s researchers have also genetically engineered stem cells to eliminate inflammation in the paws of mice which induced arthritic-like conditions. They hope this treatment will eventually be used to alleviate the pain of those who suffer rheumatoid arthritis.

Link