Dramatic new research findings from the Miller School of Medicine show a stem cell-based treatment may help prevent muscle damage caused by a heart attack, a problem that leads to congestive heart failure in thousands of Americans every year.

The phase one trial was designed to determine the safety and efficacy of infusing adult human mesenchymal stem cells intravenously in patients within days of a heart attack. Fifty-three patients were enrolled at ten medical centers across the United States beginning in February 2005. In the trial, patients were randomized to one of three doses of stem cells, and each dose was compared with placebo.

“Over the six month follow-up period, the stem cell-treated patients had lower rates of side effects such as cardiac arrhythmias, and they had significant improvements in heart, lung, and global function,” says Joshua Hare, M.D., professor of medicine, director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the Miller School, and principal investigator for the entire study. “Echocardiography showed improved heart function, particularly in those patients with large amounts of cardiac damage.”

The study findings were presented at the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting in the spring.

As a cell-based therapy, mesenchymal stem cells have a number of unique advantages: they can be taken from genetically distinct donors, are easy to prepare, and have a tendency to collect within injured areas.