An international first at the CHUM - Promising treatment in regeneration of the myocardium through the use of ...( MONTREAL Dec. 19 / The Centre hos...),Health

MONTREAL, Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ - The Centre hospitalier de l'Universite de Montreal (CHUM) announces the beginning of a phase II randomized double-blind trial with the potential of providing a therapeutic alternative after a first acute myocardial infarction. One patient has already undergone this technique, which consists of implanting immature stem cells from the bone marrow to regenerate heart muscle. The procedure went smoothly and the patient is doing well. This worldwide first, conducted in collaboration with Hopital Maisonneuve-Rosemont (Montreal, Canada) follows in the footsteps of successful phase I clinical trials carried out in Europe. To date, these preliminary studies have revealed no complications in the subjects treated, after five years of follow-up. These encouraging findings confirm the results of many preliminary experiments carried out on animal models.

Some facts

- Did you know that cardiovascular disease is the primary cause of death

in Western countries?

- Did you know that one hospital bed in five is occupied by someone

suffering from heart disease?

- Did you know that myocardial infarction (heart attack), the most

frequent cause of heart failure, affects over 250,000 patients in

Quebec?

"Drug treatment and heart transplant are among the various techniques that can improve heart function. But because the paucity of organs available remains a major problem, CHUM researchers have worked together to set up this innovative research protocol," states Dr. Samer Mansour, cardiologist at the CHUM, and principal investigator for the trial. One of the aims of this trial is to understand the effect of immature stem cells (CD133+), extracted from the patient's bone marrow in the iliac crest, on the healing process of the heart after a first heart attack. The experiment protocol involves intracoronary injection of CD133+ cells against placebo, in addition to standard medical tre
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