News
07/02/2023
A biotechnology company in France has developed a new stem cell treatment for heart attack victims who would otherwise need to wait for a transplant. CellProthera, which is based in Mulhouse in eastern France, is currently halfway through clinical trials with 50 patients and says the new treatment could be available by 2026, all being well. The pioneering treatment uses stem cells from a patient’s own body to repair their heart. During an extremely promising first stage trial, patients with very bad hearts were injected with stem cells. Their hearts were seen to start repairing themselves and most were able to live lives similar to those before they fell sick. CellProthera spokeswoman Paula Lee told The Connexion: “They are all people who have had severe heart attacks, which have damaged the heart muscles.” If all goes to plan, CellProthera’s second-stage trials will end in mid-2023, followed by a third stage on a wider patient pool, with full approval for use in 2026. Approximately 80,000 people in France suffer from heart attacks each year, with 12,000 resulting in immediate death. Another 10% pass away within an hour of the attack, while 15% of survivors die within a year. CellProthera aims to assist the approximately 30% of individuals who survive the initial heart attack but have weakened heart muscle due to oxygen deprivation during the attack. Without treatment, this often leads to death within five years. “We cannot say yet what the cost per patient will be but it will be much cheaper than a heart transplant,” added Lee. *Image by Pexels from Pixabay
06/06/2019
Scientists have developed a heart patch from millions of living, beating stem cells that could help heal heart attack damage. Grown in a lab from a sample of a patient’s own stem cells, the patches are sewn on to the heart and subsequently turn into healthy, working muscle. After three days, the patches start to beat, and after one month, they mimic mature heart tissue. They also release chemicals that stimulate the repair and regeneration of existing heart cells. Tests involving rabbits showed that the patches appear safe and led to an improvement in the function of the heart following a heart attack. A heart attack occurs when a clogged artery leads to the flow of oxygen blood to the heart muscle being disrupted. This causes the heart to be starved of oxygen and vital nutrients, resulting in its pumping power being damaged. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) said the patches could one day provide an off-the-shelf treatment for patients who have experienced a heart attack. Clinical trials involving humans are set to begin within two years. Speaking about the patches, Researcher Dr Richard Jabbour said: “One day, we hope to add heart patches to the treatments that doctors can routinely offer people after a heart attack. “We could prescribe one of these patches alongside medicines for someone with heart failure, which you could take from a shelf and implant straight in to a person.”
28/09/2017
A sudden chest pain often leads to people fearing the worst, which is why many, quite rightly, seek medical help right away. But two-thirds of the time, patients with chest pains will not actually have experienced a heart attack. Nevertheless, these patients still need to be assessed and given the all-clear before being sent home. Then there are the patients who have actually had a heart attack. While a heart trace, called an ECG, can quickly identify major heart attacks, it is not that good at highlighting smaller ones, which can also be life-threatening. At present, patients with a clear ECG and chest pain are then given a heart-attack blood test, called troponin. However, this needs to be repeated three hours later to check for signs of heart muscle damage. Now, a new instant blood test could change the way suspected heart attack patients are treated. The cMyC test can rule out or confirm a heart attack in less than 20 minutes, meaning well patients can be sent home quicker, while heart attack victims can get the treatment they need faster. Troponin and cMyC blood tests were carried out on nearly 2,000 people admitted to hospitals in Switzerland, Italy and Spain with acute chest pain. The cMyC test was found to be better at giving patients the all-clear within the first three hours of presenting with chest pain. According a team from King's College London, the cMyC test could be rolled out on the NHS within five years. Dr Tom Kaier, one of the lead researchers at St Thomas' Hospital, London, said: "Our research shows that the new test has the potential to reassure many thousands more patients with a single test, improving their experience and freeing up valuable hospital beds in A&E departments and wards across the country." [Related reading: What is Coronary Angioplasty?]