Heart attack survivors whose hearts were infused with stem cells from their own bone marrow showed nearly twice the improvement in the organ's pumping ability as patients given a placebo, according to a new study presented on Sunday, according to Reuters. A further analysis of the data found that benefits to heart function seen four months after an attack appeared to be most pronounced in patients with more severe heart attacks that caused greater damage to the muscle, researchers said at the American Heart Association annual scientific meeting. "The medications and interventional therapies available so far are intended only to limit further damage to the heart," said Andreas Zeiher, professor at J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, and a senior author of the study. "In contrast, progenitor cell therapy has the potential not only to limit further damage, but to regenerate heart function," he said. Progenitor cells are immature cells that can become a variety of specialized cells. "If progenitor cell therapy will work, this may have a major impact on public health," he added. The primary goal of the 204-patient study was to show improvement in function of the left ventricle -- the pumping chamber of the heart -- which is considered a good gauge of a patient's prognosis following a heart attack. --More 2232 Local Time 1932 GMT
