CLEVELAND, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The Food and Drug Administration has approved a study that will evaluate the use of adult stem cells from bone marrow to treat heart disease.
The phase I study, to be conducted by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland, will involve injecting bone marrow stem cells into the coronary arteries of patients suffering chronic ischemic coronary artery disease, a condition in which one or more of the primary arteries supplying blood flow to the heart are clogged.
The study will include patients who are not candidates for angioplasty, stent placement or coronary artery bypass grafting.
The Harvard Clinical Research Institute has been contracted to help run the trial and will establish an independent data and safety monitoring board to ensure patient safety and data integrity.
The trial is one of three ongoing studies in the United States to use bone marrow stem cells to treat chronic ischemia.
The hope is the new blood vessels will replace or supplement those blood vessels that fail to adequately supply oxygenated blood to heart tissue.
