Aastrom uses stem cells for limb ischemia

ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 27 (UPI) -- U.S. firm Aastrom Biosciences said Wednesday the first patient has been treated with its adult stem-cell therapy for critical limb ischemia.

The company said the first patient with CLI -- the most severe form of peripheral arterial disease -- was treated with its Vascular Repair Cell product at the Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Gainesville, Fla. The treatment improves blood flow to the limbs.

The stem-cell regeneration therapy is currently being tested in a U.S. phase 2b clinical trial involving CLI patients.

"Current surgical or endovascular techniques for limb revascularizations are often limited by anatomic constraints in patients with CLI," said Scott Berceli, lead investigator in the study. "They come to us with severe pain, and on evaluation typically have long segments of their arteries blocked so that it is impossible for us to reestablish blood flow by any conventional means. Unfortunately, these patients often go on to develop gangrene of the toes, requiring successive amputation surgery."

According to Aastrom, about 900,000 people have CLI, leading to 100,000 major amputations each year in the United States.