Functional recovery following intracoronary infusion of autologous mononuclear bone marrow cells in patients with chronic anterior myocardial infarction and severely depressed ventricular function.
OBJECTIVE
Studies have shown that intracoronary infusion of mononuclear bone marrow cells improves ventricular function in patients with acute myocardial infarction. However, less information is available about the use of this therapy during the chronic phase of a myocardial infarction. This study involved an analysis of the clinical, echocardiographic and angiographic changes observed in 19 patients with a revascularized chronic anterior myocardial infarction and depressed ventricular function who were treated by cell therapy.


METHODS
A series of patients were monitored during treatment and 6 months and 1 year after treatment. Autologous bone marrow was obtained by needle aspiration of the iliac crest and mononuclear cells were isolated by density-gradient centrifugation. An in vitro biological study of a sample of the infused cells was performed using fluorocytometry, phenotype marking and an analysis of the chemotactic properties of the cells.


RESULTS
Six months and 1 year after cell therapy, a modest improvement was observed in clinical status and ventricular function, which was most pronounced in the group of patients who responded. Characteristically, these patients were revascularized close to the time of cell therapy. There was an inverse relationship between functional recovery and biological parameters that reflected a state conducive to cell migration.


CONCLUSIONS
The intracoronary infusion of mononuclear bone marrow cells into patients with chronic anterior myocardial infarction appeared to result in a modest clinical and functional improvement after 6 months which was sustained up to 1 year after treatment.
Suárez de Lezo
José
J
Servicios de Cardiología y Hematología, Unidad de Terapia Celular, Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía, Córdoba, España. grupocorpal@grupocorpal.com
Herrera
Concepción
C
Romero
Miguel A
MA
Pan
Manuel
M
Jiménez
Rosario
R
Carmona
Dolores
D
Segura
José M
JM
Nogueras
Sonia
S
Mesa
Dolores
D
Suárez de Lezo
Javier
J
Pavlovic
Djordje
D
Ojeda
Soledad
S
Torres
Antonio
A
D000368:Aged; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D002465:Cell Movement; D002908:Chronic Disease; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D019044:Image Cytometry; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology; D014463:Ultrasonography; D016276:Ventricular Function