FDA Approves Adult Stem Cell Human Trial for Heart Disease

Adult stem cell research continues apace. This PR press release touts an Australian company's gaining FDA approval to conduct human experiments in treating heart disease with adult stem cells. It's a "Phase 2 Trial," meaning it tests efficacy as well as safety. From the release:

The Phase 2 clinical trial will be based at the Texas Heart Institute,and will follow a similar protocol to the one used by the same investigators in preclinical studies for the IND submission. These showed that implantation of the company's proprietary allogeneic stem cells by catheter into damaged heart muscle resulted in significant improvement inheart function and reduction in congestive heart failure.

This clinical trial will be the first to test an allogeneic stem cell product injected by catheter into heart muscle damaged by a recent heart attack.

Of course, most of the release is about the business aspect of all this. Life sciences: thy name is commerce.

New Human Adult Stem Cell Trial: This Time with Fat Stem Cells

Heart patients in Texas will be receiving infusions of their own adult stem cells found in fat, as a method of helping to regenerate damaged heart tissue. This technique has shown good results in animal studies and at least one study in Spain. Let us hope that the 30 initial patients thrive and that our own fat becomes a source of powerful medicine.

(Memo to self: This potential breakthrough is not to be used as an excuse for eating that dish of ice cream to make sure I have enough adult stem cells to care for me if I ever have a heart attack.)