How to measure the effects of the intracoronary stem cell therapy?

Abstract

The results of clinical studies showed that there is a moderate increase in left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) at 4-6 months after stem cell therapy. So far, the endpoint of such trials was the change of LVEF and volumes measured by LV angiography or MRI; however, these parameters might not be optimal to assess the effects of BMC therapy. BOOST trial was one of the first studies addressing the effect of bone marrow cell transfer in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction. The results of 5-year follow-up were reported, showed no sustained effect on the LV systolic function in the whole group, but some beneficial effects on diastolic function were found. Other study showed using tissue-Doppler that after implantation of selected CD133+ and CD133-CD34+ bone marrow-derived cells in patients with history of anterior MI and severely reduced LVEF the indices of regional LV systolic function improved. Clinical significance of these findings remains to be established; however, the assessment of diastolic function and tissue-Doppler imaging might be valuable parameters in stem cell-based trials. © The Author 2009.