University of Miami researchers explore potential of stem …

In 2009, Steven Bustamante, 58, was in bad shape.

A major heart attack, along with nearly every complication in the book, had led to heart failure. He called his brother from the hospital to say his goodbyes, fearing he would fall asleep and never wake up.

But when he did wake up, an unfamiliar doctor from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine was sitting in his room, offering him the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial where his heart would be injected with stem cells extracted from his bone marrow.

The results were transformative.

I went from being a person who probably needed a heart transplant to someone whose heart is in a normal range, Bustamante said. I dont feel like a sick person anymore, at all.

Several studies at the UM Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute (ISCI) have shown that stem cells derived from adult bone marrow, which carry the potential to grow into various kinds of cells based on their environment, can help repair damaged heart tissue.

As researchers continue to explore the potential of stem cell therapy in current and upcoming studies, they are taking what some see as early but steady strides toward changing the future of cardiac care perhaps to one in which doctors help patients regenerate and rejuvenate their own hearts.

Weve taken some very important steps, said Dr. Joshua Hare, director of the ISCI, and we really envision the possibility that this may be an applicable therapy that could help a lot of people. But there are a lot of questions.

To answer those questions, researchers are simultaneously expanding trial sizes, branching into various cardiac diseases and trying to hone in on ideal treatment, dosage and delivery.

One of the pilot trials, published in November 2012, aimed to determine if stem cells from a donor are as safe and effective as a patients own stem cells. The results from 30 people showed that both types are safe good news because donor cells can be prepared in advance.

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