title: Experimental myocardial stem cell therapy for ST-elevation myocardial infarction: rationale and level of evidence.
abstract: Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and is characterized by the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary arteries reducing the blood supply to the heart muscle causing ischemia. IHD can result in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), chronic IHD and heart failure. The patients suffer from chest pain (angina), dyspnea and a reduced quality of life. Common for all these conditions is loss of functional cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells. Stem cell therapy to regenerate injured myocardium is a new treatment option which has gained much interest in the last 10-15 years especially after STEMI. Many preclinical and clinical studies have shown encouraging results but also very diverse clinical outcomes after stem cell treatment. This diversity in results may be explained by different factors, such as cell isolation technique, infarct location, timing and route of delivery, cell dosage, cell type etc. The present review will try to elaborate and clarify the present status for stem cell therapy in STEMI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology & Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory 2014, The Heart Centre, Rigshospitalet, University Hospital of Copenhagen and Faculty of Health Sciences, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark - jens.kastrup@regionh.dk.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kastrup
authors.forename: Naja D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Mygind
authors.forename: Abbas A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Qayyum
authors.forename: Anders B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Mathiasen
mesh_terms: D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000628:therapy; D000072657:ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction / Q000628:therapy*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*