Stem Cell Use in Heart Surgery

For the first time, commercially available heart muscle stem

cells have

been used in heart surgery.

The operation was performed in Japan on a woman in her fifties with

severe heart disease.

Surgeon Yoshiki Sawa and his team at Osaka Keisatsu Hospital

carried out the procedure

using technology developed with Nobel Prize-winning scientist Shinya

Yamanaka.

During the surgery, sheets of heart muscle cells made from

induced

pluripotent stem cells, known as iPS cells,

were transplanted directly onto the patient's heart.

These cells are created by reprogramming mature cells into a younger

state, allowing them to develop into different

cell types.

The goal is to help damaged heart muscle recover, improve cardiac

function, and increase exercise tolerance.

The team plans similar procedures in dozens of patients to study

long-term safety and effectiveness.