Stem cell therapy for myocardial infarction (MI) patients may deliver benefits over conventional therapy even after 18 months of follow up, according to data presented earlier today at WCC 2010.

Stem cell therapy significantly increased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) and left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) within six months of treatment, with the effects sustained after one year, according to a meta-analysis of 18 studies involving 980 patients. Furthermore, myocardial anatomy following cell therapy displayed statistically and clinically significant improvement compared with control, albeit without corresponding functional changes. Further subgroup analyses suggested a benefit of cell infusion to LVEF in acute but not chronic MI.

“Individual phase I/II clinical trials had provided inconclusive results about the benefits of stem cell therapy for MI,” said Dr Meng Jiang of Renji Hospital, Shanghai, China. “By conducting a meta-analysis, we have been able to identify some clear trends that demonstrate the value of stem cell therapy for MI.”

Randomized controlled trials for stem cell therapy for MI were analyzed for change in LVEF as primary endpoint. Subgroup analyses comparing acute and old MI, timing of cell infusion from the onset of MI, and the storage duration and dose of bone marrow cells (BMC) or CD34+ cells, were undertaken.