VIII Methods of Stem Cell Delivery
A major goal of cardiac stem cell therapy is to transplant enough cells into the myocardium at the site of injury or infarction to maximize restoration of function. Several different approaches currently are being used to deliver stem cells. The intracoronary infusion involves the infusion of cells into a coronary artery, usually during a brief coronary occlusion produced by inflating a balloon at the tip of the catheter. This method of delivery offers several advantages: (1) it results in a much more uniform distribution of cells within the infarcted region, (2) it does not require specialized training or the purchase of specialized equipment, and (3) it is technically easier, more practical and widespread
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The classic idea that provided the primary motivation for stem cell therapy is that delivery of the appropriate stem cells would repair a damaged heart via active myocardial regeneration resulting from transdifferentiation of the administered stem cells.19 Some researchers believe that exogenous stem cells may also stimulate proliferation of endogenous cardiac precursors or stem cells through neovascularization or paracrine signaling actions. Other state that exogenous stem cells may lead to cardiac repair via fusion of donor cells with host cardiomyocytes.20 Other suggest that, the effects of stem cells are mediated by altering mechanical properties to strengthen the MI scar, thereby preventing deterioration in cardiac function, inflammation and diminished vascular supply causes many cells to die within seven days after transplantation16, 17
The stem cells were engineered from typical skin cells. This technique means that heart patients would not have to worry about rejection. Their new hearts would be made of their own cells.
Stem cells have made significant promise to help people understand and treat a broad range of injuries, diseases, and other health-related issues. This type of treatment has saved the lives of many people with leukemia and can also be used for tissue grafts to treat conditions with the skin, bone and surface of the eye ("Nine Things to Know about Stem Cell Treatments"). Dilated cardiomyopathy (DMC) is a disease characterized by expansion of the left ventricular chamber and it is usually associated with systolic dysfunction. The presentations of the condition include heart failure, myocardial infarction, and arrhythmia and as a refractory life-threatening condition which can cause heart failure, transplantation remains the ultimate therapy for
Therefore, much of the critic’s arguments are invalid due to the fact that the embryo won’t develop into a child. Stem cells are the beginning of an enormous scientific breakthrough, a breakthrough that critics are simply putting off. Embryonic stem cells have the potential to treat some of the worst diseases we face today, such as cancer. Many critics argue that adult stem cells offer a good alternative. However, adult stem cells have become specialized and only have the ability to become specific type of tissue. Unlike adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells have the ability to create any type of cell within the body, as well as replicate themselves. This difference is proof alone that embryonic stem cells are vital to treating the more complex illnesses. Due to this, embryonic stem cells would create a larger bank of replacement cells and tissues. This is important because although there is organ and tissue donation, there is a higher demand for them than we have to supply. With embryonic stem cells, there would be more available treatment for patients with diseases such as macular degeneration, spinal cord injuries, heart disease, and more. In the case of heart disease, with the use of embryonic stem cells, healthy heart tissue could be generated in the lab and then transplanted. This would lead to a quicker treatment option than waiting for an available tissue and organ through
stem cells were discovered a long ago that they can be beneficial for fighting against the killer diseases but after passing of two decades of the discovery it has been profound that (hESCs) are being tried as a treatment for two noteworthy illnesses: heart fail and type 1 diabetes.
Because of stem cells regenerative qualities, many scientists hypothesize that eventually we can use stem cells on a large scale to assist us to regenerate damaged tissue within the body especially when transitioning organ donations, or prosthetics into an individual, ultimately making it a safer practice.
In order to obtain relevant information to support this topic, databases including PubMed, Medline, UpToDate, and Google Scholar were used. Terms used in each search included and combined the following: mesenchymal stem cell, cardiac stem cells, HF, heart repair, ejection fraction, cardiac output, cardiac index, mortality.
Scientists have been using stem cells since their discovery to improve research and treatments. One type of organ improvement stem cells have played an important part in recently is the heart. There can now be a reduction in cardiovascular disease morbidity rates through the utilization of stem cells, and worrying about compatibility and time can become a thing of the past. Through the use of stem cells, repair, rehabilitation, and transplant can help or even cure myocardial necrosis.
Through the use of stem cells, a variety of different methods can be used to replace damaged cells in the human body with healthy ones. The first of these strategies is direct implantation of the cells. Stem cells can be injected straight into the organ that is affected or into the veins. This allows the stem cells to target the malfunctioning organ through the cytokines and chemokines it releases. Another strategy takes on a transplantation approach. That is, that the stem cells are specialized and harvested outside of the body before they are injected, or transplanted, into the diseased organ. Lastly, growth factors and drugs can be prescribed to
“Through the isolation and manipulation of cells, scientists are finding ways to identify young, regenerating ones that can be used to replace damaged of dead cells in diseased organs. This therapy is similar to the process of organ transplant, only the treatment consists of the transplantation of cells rather than organs. The cells that have shown by far the most promise of supplying diseased organs with healthy cells are called stem cells.” (Chapter Preface)
Over the decade, stem cell research has been ongoing around the world experimenting ways to control stem cells safely and effectively in the hope of curing as many diseases and help as many patients as possible. Stem cells are the foundation cell of our bodies. They are immature blood cells that have the remarkable potential and the ability to divide and form hundreds of copies and develop into various types of cell. Thus, it can be used to develop healthy tissues or organs to replace those that are damaged. In theory, there is no limit to the types of diseases that could be possibly treated with stem cell because it has the potential to develop into many different types of cell in the body. There are many people suffer in
From the patients that were given the stem cell therapy; 3.4 percent died and 37.9 percent were hospitalized with cardiovascular problem. In comparison to the placebo in which 13.7 percent died and 49.0 were hospitalized with cardiovascular problems. Patients given stem cell therapy also on average had a longer amount of time until their first adverse event caused by their class III or class IV heart failure. Other measures of heart function and quality of life like walking, running, regular daily tasks, the amount of blood pumped out of the left ventricle with each contraction proved that improvements were present in the group receiving Ixmyelocel-T compared to the placebo group not receiving
After a heart attack, the heart is unable to regenerate cardiac muscle cells known as myocytes which diminishes the heart’s pump function. The heart tries to heal itself by changing the damaged or dead heart muscle cells into scar tissue. However, the scar tissue cannot function as a muscle so it does not contribute to the cardiac contractile force. Overtime, this leads to a greater burden on the remaining viable heart muscle which eventually leads to heart failure. Current treatments such as autologous grafting and commercially available fillers incur donor-site morbidity and volume loss over time. Other transplantation therapies do not directly address the loss of cardiac myocytes, which leads to the drive for more research in cardiac regeneration.
Millions suffer from many different diseases and problems. What if a cell can possibly fix it all? Scientists are believing that stem cells can be very helpful in the cure to many of these situations. Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, spinal cord injuries, and hundreds of other genetic disorders are thought to be cured by stem cells. After a heart attack, the
stem cell state, just like the way in which iPSC’s are produced, but recent research has shown ways in which adult cell types in general could potentially be reprogrammed to other cell types in the laboratory (5). This means that if this process was perfected, not only will stem cells themselves be able to be reprogrammed, but eventually all cell types in the body. It is evident that this would be a major breakthrough for modern medicine and it is limitless on the impact it would make to current treatment methods and even many diseases and conditions. For example, after a portion of the heart experiences a heart attack, that area is then dead and can not be revived, but if reprogramming could be used on general cell types, this could change fibroblast in the scar tissue present into fully functional cardiac cells, reversing the damage done by the heart attack (4). This would be a major future implication if the process of reprogramming could potentially be mastered in general cell types (5).
For example, it might grow to be possible to make healthy cardiovascular system muscle tissue in the laboratory and then transplant those coronary heart muscle cells into individuals with long-term heart disease. Preliminary research in mice shows that bone marrow stromal tissues, transplanted into a damaged cardiovascular system, can have beneficial and successful results. Whether these cells can generate heart