University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Fla.
Heart Disease Research at University of Miami, Miami, Fla.
— -- Hi, I'm Dr. Joshua Hare from the University of Miami. I wanted to update you on a research program that we have at the University of Miami using bone marrow-derived stem cells to treat patients with congestive heart failure due to heart attack.
One of the big problems with a heart attack is the loss of functioning muscle tissue in the heart which can lead to the syndrome of congestive heart failure. And one of the ways in which medical scientists are trying to address this problem currently is to use a variety of cell-based therapies. Most of the cell-based therapies that are being tested now come from the bone marrow, but there are other sources.
At our program at the University of Miami, we're using bone marrow samples taken from individual patients. We grow those bone marrow samples in the laboratory, and grow what we are called mesenchymal stem cells from each individual patient. And then at a later time when you undergo cardiac surgery, the surgeon can inject those cells -- your own cells -- back into your heart into the damaged area. And what we're testing with the National Institutes of Health funding is the idea that the injection of these cells may help your heart recover from a previous heart attack and the injury that you sustained from that heart attack.
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