Originally published February 26 2006
Experimental stem cell procedure offers new hope to heart patients
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Israeli-Thai company Theravitae now performs an experimental stem cell procedure that uses stem cells taken from a patient's blood to inject into the heart.
Although Carty knew she needed a new heart, she was afraid hers wouldn't last during the long wait for a transplant.
Desperate for an alternative, Carty found the Israeli-Thai company Theravitae, which has begun performing an experimental procedure that multiplies stem cells taken from a patient's own blood and injects them into the ailing heart in hopes of strengthening it.
The procedure performed by Theravitae and a handful of other companies could offer new hope to hundreds of thousands of heart patients around the world.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved the procedure for use in the United States, and though doctors hope it can be a substitute for heart transplants, the permanence of the repairs has yet to be ascertained.
Several teams of doctors around the world -- including at least three in the United States -- say they are seeing promising results in similar trials using stem cells extracted from bone marrow.
Proponents of Theravitae's newer procedure say it is simpler and less painful to get stem cells from blood than extracting the cells from bone marrow.
The procedure involves no risk of rejection since the cells are the patient's own.
After a two-week trip last fall to Thailand for the operation, Carty is once again walking two miles on the boardwalk in Little Silver, N.J. -- and her strengthened heart led doctors to remove her from the transplant list.
Fulga said patients who get the procedure are generally heart transplant candidates or people who have undergone bypass surgery without positive results.
Dr. Mark Zucker, director of heart failure and transplantation at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in New Jersey, said therapy using adult stem cells is the way of the future.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml