Stem cell therapy is associated with a lower risk of heart failure after a heart attack, according to a study
[The BMJ published an "expression of concern" about this study on November 12] A phase 3 clinical trial has analyzed the effectiveness of administering stem cells to prevent heart failure in people who have suffered a major heart attack. The trial included 396 patients, 136 of whom received a stem cell infusion. According to the results, published in The BMJ, the treatment significantly reduced the rates of heart failure, although it did not affect mortality.
The BMJ has issued an "expression of concern" regarding this work due to various irregularities in the data and study design. We have retained the expert feedback gathered by SMC at the time of its publication.
Alegría - Stem
Eduardo Alegría
Cardiologist specialist in cardiac rehabilitation at Policlínica Gipuzkoa
This is not a high-quality article. It simply adds data on the effect of stem cells on cardiac function after a heart attack. It has long been known that they do something, but it is not well understood why, or even whether these cells survive nested in the myocardium or only function by secreting substances that promote remodeling.
There are several methodological limitations: the ratio of patients evaluated to those included, the fact that the primary parameter is exclusively clinical without objective criteria ("heart failure") without even measuring BNP (brain natriuretic peptide), lack of blinding, no effect on mortality due to the small sample size, etc.
Attar et al.
- Research article
- Peer reviewed
- Randomized
- Clinical trial
