Intramyocardial Injection of Autologous Aldehyde Dehydrogenase-Bright Stem Cells for Therapeutic Angiogenesis (FOCUS Br)

Recent studies have suggested that it may be possible to grow new blood vessels (angiogenesis) to supply the heart muscle that is currently not getting enough blood. One theory is that a certain type of stem cell, aldehyde dehydrogenase bright stem cells, may stimulate the growth of new vessels. After a bone marrow procedure, the special cells are separated and then injected back into the heart around the area of damage with a special guidance and injection system. Once a patient meets all inclusion criteria and no exclusion criteria, he/she will be consented to the study and extensive baseline testing will be completed at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, Texas. Once all baseline criteria are met, the patient has his/her own bone marrow harvested and later injected, if randomized to receive active treatment. The day after the bone marrow harvest, the patient is taken to the cardiac catheterization lab where NOGA mapping is performed and the processed cells or placebo are injected under electromechanical guidance into the affected areas of the left ventricle. The patient is usually discharged home the next day and returns for follow-up at weeks 1 and 4, and months 3 and 6, and at one year unless there is a crossover and then he/she begins baseline again at 6 months and follow-up for one more year. Follow-up testing, including quality of life and NOGA mapping, is done at the time of injection, as well as at 6 months.