title: Stress and tissue Doppler echocardiographic evidence of effectiveness of myoblast transplantation in patients with ischaemic heart failure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is experimental evidence that transplanting skeletal myoblasts (SM) into the post-infarction myocardial scar improves regional and global left ventricular (LV) function.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate short- and long-term regional and global LV functional effects of percutaneously transplanted SM in patients with ischaemic heart failure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten patients (mean age 60+/-10 years, 8 males) with dilated ischaemic cardiomyopathy underwent percutaneous injection of autologous myoblasts. Regional and global LV function was evaluated by 2-dimensional echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) at rest and during low-dose dobutamine infusion to assess contractile reserve. After a baseline examination, sequential follow-ups were performed at 1, 3, and 6 months and 1 year. NYHA functional class decreased from 2.7+/-0.5 to 1.9+/-0.5 (p<0.01) at one year. LV function and volumes at rest remained unchanged while contractile reserve significantly improved during follow-up. At low-dose dobutamine infusion, the peak systolic velocity in the regions of myoblasts injection significantly increased at TDI examination (from 7.7+/-2.1 to 8.6+/-1.8 cm/s, p=0.02); LV ejection fraction improved (from 40+/-9% to 46+/-8%, p<0.0001) and end-systolic volumes decreased (from 56+/-28 to 50+/-25 ml/m(2), p=0.001) at 1 year.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with ischaemic heart failure, percutaneous injection of autologous myoblasts may improve regional and global LV systolic function during dobutamine infusion, at 1-year follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Thoraxcenter, Erasmus MC, Bd406, Dr. Molewaterplein 40, 3015-GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Biagini
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valgimigli
authors.forename: Pieter C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Smits
authors.forename: Don
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Poldermans
authors.forename: Arend F L
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Schinkel
authors.forename: Vittoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rizzello
authors.forename: Emile E M
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Onderwater-
authors.forename: Manolis
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bountioukos
authors.forename: Patrick W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Serruys
mesh_terms: D002921:Cicatrix; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D025401:Echocardiography, Stress; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D032448:Myoblasts, Skeletal / Q000637:transplantation*; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013318:Stroke Volume; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left