Intra-coronary high-dose CD34 stem cells in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease: A 12-month follow-up

Abstract

Current stem cell protocols for ischemic heart disease are limited by the small numbers of cells that can be obtained by bone marrow aspirate. To increase myocardial delivery of bone marrow stem cells in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease (CIHD), we used granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) for bone marrow mobilization of CD34+ cells, enabling intracoronary infusion of large numbers of CD34+ stem cells. Patients with CIHD (n = 5) demonstrated significantly reduced numbers of CD34+ cells mobilized by G-CSF in comparison to age-matched controls. Sustained reduction in anginal symptoms and improvement in quality of life scores was seen in all patients following infusion of ce..