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Big News Network.com Tuesday 25th January, 2005 (UPI)

Ill heart patients dosed with their own stem cells through tiny incisions showed improvement in their heart performance, report Pittsburgh researchers.

Thirty patients were treated in the study that took place in South America. All of the treated patients had severe congestive heart failure and had exhausted all other treatment options.

Fifteen of the patients were treated with stem cells, taken from the bone marrow in their hip bones. The stem cells were injected directly into their hearts. Four tiny incisions were used for the injections to minimize trauma to the patients. As a control 15 patients underwent the same procedure but without the stem cells.

Each treated patient showed some improvement with some improving as much as 52 percent in the amount of blood pumped out of the heart to the body. The study shows the treatment could help as many as 40 percent of the patients suffering from congestive heart disease unrelated to coronary blockages.

The 15 patients who were controls for the study are now eligible for the stem cell treatment. A report on the trial was presented Tuesday at the 41st Annual Meeting of the Society for Thoracic Surgery.