Chinese stem cell therapy reverses heart failure in 90% of patients in landmark trial

A hospital in east China has used reprogrammed stem cells to treat severe heart failure, with 90 per cent of patients showing significant recovery in heart function after the novel therapy.

On Wednesday, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, affiliated with Nanjing University, released the long-term follow-up results of a phase 2 clinical study, which was published in the journal Nature Medicine.

While dead heart muscle cannot regrow, this stem cell technology can help ageing or damaged hearts grow new muscle tissue and restore function.

The researchers found that nine out of 10 heart failure patients injected with heart muscle cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) had significantly better cardiac function at the 12-month follow-up compared with the control group.

Patients with severe heart failure may experience shortness of breath after walking just a few steps, the inability to lie flat and sleep at night, and frequent hospital visits. Heart failure can result from several end-stage cardiac diseases.

A heart transplant can cure the condition, but donor hearts are scarce.