Stem Cells from Placenta show promise for treating Heart Failure

Stem cells collected from placenta, which is generally discarded after childbirth, show promise as a treatment for heart failure. Found in the latest issue of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, a new study using mice determined that human-derived adherent cells (PDAC® cells) significantly improved cardiac function when injected into the heart muscle.
Currently, about 6 million people in the United States alone suffer from heart failure, which is when the heart’s pumping power is weaker than normal. Despite intensive medical care, almost 80 percent of people die within eight years of diagnosis, making it the world’s leading cause of death. Heart failure can be the result of coronary artery disease, heart attack and other conditions such as high blood pressure and valve disease.
Cell therapies for cardiac repair have generated considerable interest in recent years. While earlier studies using autologous bone marrow transplantation (stem cells collected from the patient’s own bone marrow) helped improve cardiac function after myocardial infarction (MI); more recent studies showed no benefit in the early stages after MI. This has led researchers to question whether mesenchymal stem cells from sources other than bone marrow, such as cord blood and placenta tissue, might yield better results.
“In this animal model of progressive heart injury, stem cells isolated from placenta showed promise as an off-the-shelf therapy for cardiac repair, warranting the need for testing in additional models, said Anthony Atala, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine and director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine.