UF researchers are hoping stem cells found in human bones can relieve patients' suffering from the painful effects of heart disease.
In the next year, research physicians at UF's College of Medicine want to complete four studies to determine if stem cells found in human bone marrow could be able to rejuvenate damaged heart tissue.
The first study, which began Oct. 3, admitted participants with severe angina, which is chest pain caused by coronary artery disease, known as CAD.
More than six million Americans suffer from angina, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
CAD occurs when a portion of an artery in the heart becomes narrowed or completely blocked with plaque.
Although doctors are able to clear away the blockage and plaque with existing methods, the blocked area in the artery becomes scarred and weak, said Carl Pepine, chief of cardiovascular medicine at UF's College of Medicine.
Until now, doctors had no way to help revitalize these damaged regions.
"The old assumption was that the heart cells at birth were the only ones you got," Pepine said.
Preliminary research has shown, however, that a concentrated injection of stem cells into these weakened regions of the heart could result in the regrowth of blood vessels, Pepine said.
These blood vessels may help bring blood flowing back into the scarred tissue.
When people hear the term "stem cell," they tend to think of embryonic stem cells, which are able to develop into any type of cell, including the nervous system, the heart and the immune system.
However, the adult body also produces what are known as autologous stem cells, said Christopher Cogle, doctor and assistant professor of hematology and oncology in the UF College of Medicine. These stem cells are not nearly as adaptable as embryonic stem cells.
In the last five years, Cogle and other UF researchers have been at the forefront of discovering how blood stem cells might help heal the heart.
In 2002, Edward Scott, a UF molecular geneticist, led researchers to confirm that the blood stem cells of mice could be transformed into blood vessels. Then, in 2004, Cogle's lab saw that human blood stem cells could transform into brain cells.
The new study will see if blood stem cells, which are produced in the bone marrow, can be converted into blood vessels in the heart.
In the procedure, patients are injected with a protein to stimulate the production of blood stem cells in their bone marrow. The blood stem cells are eventually pushed out of the bone marrow and into the bloodstream.
After five days of bone marrow stimulation, the patient's blood is filtered through a machine which collects blood stem cells and then returns the rest of the blood back to the patient.
Within a day of collecting them, the stem cells are injected into the patient's heart with the help of sophisticated technology that helps doctors locate damaged heart tissue.
Pepine said a "best case" prognosis for the treated patients would be improved mobility, reduced chest pain and an improved quality of life.
Although Cogle could not comment on the progress of the study, he said all safety expectations for the patients have been met.
