ORLANDO, April 2 -- An infusion of autologous bone marrow progenitor cells may improve outcomes for patients who suffer a severe myocardial infarction, a phase I study suggested.
Patients who received the highest doses of enriched CD34+ endothelial progenitor cells in the affected vessel had increased perfusion of the infarct at six months (P=0.01), according to Arshed Quyyumi, M.D., of Emory University in Atlanta.
This is the first study to find a dose response when using enriched progenitor cells to repair damage following an MI severe enough to cause ventricular remodeling, he said at the American College of Cardiology meeting here.
Although it is unknown whether this treatment will improve clinical outcomes, he said, a 2007 meta-analysis of similar studies conducted mostly outside the U.S. demonstrated a significant reduction in MIs, and trends toward reductions in death, admissions for heart failure, and repeat revascularization.
