MyoCell®, muscle stem cells for severe heart damage

MyoCell® is a muscle stem cell therapy product for improved cardiac function months or years after a patient has suffered severe heart damage due to a heart attack. The procedure requires that a physician remove a small amount of muscle from the patient's thigh. Muscle stem cells (myoblasts) are isolated, expanded using Bioheart's proprietary cell-culturing process and injected directly into the scar tissue of the patient's heart. There were no specific side effects related to the transplantation.Treatment resulted in sustained (six months) improvements in 6-minute walk distance of >90 meters, inducing a return to a more active lifestyle and a better quality of life. Scar stiffness decreased and diastolic properties were enhanced by the treatment.