General Overview of the Seventh International Symposium on Stem Cell Therapy and Cardiovascular Innovations

Abstract

The Seventh International Symposium on Stem Cell Therapy and Cardiovascular Innovations was held in Madrid on the 6th and 7th of May 2010. Gathering for the seventh consecutive year the most relevant researchers and opinion leaders on cardiovascular cell therapy, it has become the most important worldwide event on this field. A comprehensive review of the last developments on cell therapy, surgery for heart failure and tissue engineering was made, and the results of three clinical trials were reported. The Symposium was dedicated to the memory of Professor Helmut Drexler.

Stem Cell Therapy for Heart Disease

“…59,62 Intracoronary delivery has been used in AMI, 43 68,75 While others demonstrated no effect on EF, there were still benefits. 66,67,78,80,85,86 Using allogeneic multipotent cells via adventitial delivery, Penn et al 27 demonstrated a significant EF increase compared to results witnessed in other trials. There were no adverse effects or signs of infarction.…”

“…43,53,54,62 Heart Failure Additionally, there have been multiple HF trials (Table 2). Many demonstrated benefits in ventricular function noted by increased EF, [68][69][70][71][72][73]75,79,82,83 improved functional class, 75,78,80,82,83,86 reduced infarct size, 70,72,80,[82][83][84] decreased mortality, 79 and acceptable safety outcomes. [66][67][68][69]75,78,80,[82][83][84]86 SCIPIO was the first trial using autologous CSC in HF and showed improvement in EF, infarct size, viable tissue, and HF scores.…”

“…79 Some trials did not show significant results, 76,85 while others demonstrated benefits, but no effect on EF. 66,67,74,77,80,84,86 A highly anticipated trial, FOCUS-CCTRN, assessed BMC via transendocardial injection in chronic HF. However, results indicated no significant change in endpoints.…”

“…Both trials demonstrated the efficacy of ASC in AMI and left ventricular dysfunction in settings of marked myocardial ischemia. 61,80 Landmark, large-scale trials using BMC showed benefits in neovascularization, ventricular function and remodeling. [12][13][14] The ACT-34 study demonstrated that EPC mobilization, isolation and injection significantly improved recurrent angina.…”

Chronic High-Fat Feeding Affects the Mesenchymal Cell Population Expanded From Adipose Tissue but Not Cardiac Atria

“…In association with these metabolic disorders, several studies have demonstrated that hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, and hypertension impair the number and function of various progenitor cells [11, 12]. In the past few years, autologous cardiosphere‐derived cells (CDCs) and adipose‐derived mesenchymal cells (ADMSCs) have been used for preclinical and clinical trials, which have confirmed early short‐term safety and therapeutic efficacy [13, 14]. However, because of reduced functionality or a different composition of cell populations, in diabetic patients, the autologous origin of the cells could be a limiting factor for cell transplantation.…”