Treating heart attacks with stem cells from autologous fat

Huge therapeutic potential of body fat

Vienna (2008-03-01) — Until recently fat from liposuction has been dumped carelessly. But now the huge therapeutic potential of stem cells harvested from fatty tissue is being studied in several clinical studies. “We already have been using the body’s own stem cells which we collect by liposuction with microcannulas successfully in the treatment of tissue defects, in breast augmentation and for skin rejuvenation, new studies prove that there is much more to come in terms of regenerative medicine,” says DDr. Karl-Georg Heinrich, Vienna-based expert in aesthetic medicine and anti aging.

Fat is among the richest sources of regenerative cells in the body. It contains adult stem cells as well as many other important types of cells, which have been proven to increase circulation in the damaged cardiac muscle.

“The great challenge in cardiovascular cell therapy lies in obtaining a sufficient number of stem cells and regenerative cells,” says Francisco J. Fernández-Avilés, head of the Department of Cardiology at the Hospital Universitario Gregorio Marañón and one of the researchers in the APOLLO trial, “until now we have been treating a few patients suffering from chronic cardiac ischemia and we were able to harvest a sufficient amount of the body’s own cells in real time.”

The APOLLO trial is a randomized, placebo-controlled trial on 48 patients. In this multicenter, proof of concept study safety and feasibility of autologous stem cell treatment following cardiac infarction will be assessed.

Stem cells harvested from the patient’s own fat from cosmetic Liposuction could be used for a variety of acute and chronic diseases.

Further information on ddrheinrich.com.

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