Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Stem Cell Muscle Patch Helps Restore Function in Failing HeartsHeart failure plagues millions of people worldwide, and currently, the only proven treatment for end-stage heart disease is heart transplantation.Heart transplantation is a limited option and unavailable to many.Scientists from the University Medical Center Göttingen and the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck in Germany have developed a stem cell-based epicardial patch for myocardial improvement.They developed the epicardial engineered heart muscle allograft from induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and stromal cells embedded in a collagen hydrogel.The patch is placed via a small thoracotomy incision and has been tested in a rhesus macaques model demonstrating long-term retention (6 months) with improvement in heart muscle contraction and ejection fraction.The stem cells require several months before incorporating into the heart and improving function and therefore require the patient to be somewhat stable.The patch has been tested clinically in one patient who had improvement in heart function and was successfully bridged to transplant.This product is also suitable for scaling as it is an off-the-shelf allograft rather than autograft.There is currently a clinical trial with 15 enrollees.-AMS
Source: Artificial Organs
DOI: 10.1111/aor.15008
Authors: Aakash M. Shah, Maria C. Beyer
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4409519757