MADRID // A Spanish hospital has successfully used stem cells taken from healthy donors to treat seven heart-attack victims, in what officials said was a world first.
Gregorio Maranon hospital in Madrid plans to treat 55 patients by using the technique in a clinical trial, according to the regional Madrid government that runs the hospital.
“Seven patients have already been operated on and they have progressed very well despite having suffered serious damage to their heart tissue,” it said.
It is the first time that allogeneic cells, stem cells that come from another person, have been used to repair damage to a heart caused by a heart attack.
A heart attack occurs when the organ is starved of oxygen, such as when a clot blocks the flow of blood to the heart. As the heart heals, the dead muscle is replaced with scar tissue.
But because the scar tissue does not beat like healthy heart muscle, the ability to pump blood around the body is reduced.
Although patients with mild heart failure can live a relatively normal life with the help of drugs, those with severe heart failure can suffer prolonged pain and distress because everyday tasks such as shopping for groceries or taking a shower leave them exhausted.
Doctors around the world are looking at ways of regenerating the heart to replace the scar tissue with beating muscle.
Stem cells figure prominently in their plans, although they have up until now involved the patient’s own stem cells.
While it takes four to eight weeks to process a patient’s own stem cells to be used in therapy, donor cells can be processed and stored and are available for immediate use, according to Dr Francisco Ferandez-Avila, the hospital’s head of cardiology.
“Besides this very important advantage, this technique allows for the selection of donors whose cells show the greatest potential to repair [heart tissue],” he said.
“Before being processed, the allogeneic cells are exhaustively studied and only those that functioned best are selected.”
The cells are injected into the heart through a coronary artery.
The clinical trial is partially financed by the European Union. The hospital is coordinating the study, which involves about 20 European bodies.
* Agence France-Presse
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Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
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Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
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Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
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What is myofascial pain syndrome?
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What are trigger points?
Trigger points are irritable knots in the soft tissue that covers muscle tissue. Through injury or overuse, muscle fibres contract as a reactive and protective measure, creating tension in the form of hard and, palpable nodules. Overuse and sustained posture are the main culprits in developing trigger points.
What is myofascial or trigger-point release?
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Wicked
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
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Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
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“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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