These results are being published in the prominent medical journal The Lancet.

The researchers tested bone marrow stem cells on patients with acute myocardial infarction. The 67 patients that took part in the study, saw the supply of blood to the heart was restored optimally via the balloon technique. Within 24 hours, some patients had an injection of stem cells from their own bone marrow while others received an aqueous (placebo) solution (the patients in each group were selected by drawing lots). Such a double-blind, placebo-controlled study has never before been conducted.

Improvement was seen in the global functioning of the left ventricle and was comparable in both the control group (injected with the placebo) and the group that received the stem cells.

However, a clear global improvement in function was found in the sub-group of patients who had been afflicted with the most serious infarctions. The reduction of the size of infarct was greater in all patients in given stem cells and demonstrated better preserved regional left ventricle function.

It is still too early to conclude that every patient with a myocardial infarction would benefit from stem cells.

Read more at Science Daily - Administering Stem Cells To Patients With Myocardial Infarction Leads To A Reduction Of The Infarct