Bone Marrow Cells Repair Heart Damaged by Chagas’ Disease

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13 Jan 2005 21:23:52 -0000

 

Bone Marrow Cells Repair Heart Damaged by Chagas' Disease

 

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ISIS Press Release 13/01/05

 

Bone Marrow Cells Repair Heart Damaged by Chagas' Disease

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Dr. Lilian Joensen reports

 

Two women whose hearts were severely damaged by Chagas'

disease (see Box) showed remarkable recovery three months

after stem cells from their own bone marrow were

transplanted into their heart.

 

 

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Chagas disease is caused by the protozoan parasite

Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), which enters the body through

broken skin. These can be introduced by infected blood-

sucking `Assassin bugs' (which live in the cracks and

crevices of poor-quality houses in rural areas), through

transfusion with infected blood, or transmitted from

infected mother to foetus. Usually a small sore develops

where the parasite enters. Within a few days, fever and

swollen lymph nodes may develop. This acute phase may cause

illness and death, especially in young children. More

commonly, the patients enter phase without symptoms, lasting

several months or years, during which time the parasites

invade most organs of the body, often causing damage to the

heart, intestine and oesophagus, and progressive weakness.

About 32% of those infected die from organ damages during

the chronic phase.

 

The geographical distribution of the human T. cruzi

infection extends from Mexico to the South of Argentina. The

disease affects 16-18 million people and some 100 million,

i.e. about 25% of the population of Latin America is at risk

of acquiring Chagas disease.

 

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In Argentina there are 2 300 000 people who contracted

Chagas' disease, and at least 40 000 of them suffer from

severe heart problems as a consequence of the disease.

 

The new treatment on the two patients from San Juan Province

offers much hope.

 

So much so that the Secretariat of Science, Technology and

Productive Innovation (SeCyT) has contributed 1 200 000

pesos to a group of local medical doctors directed by Dr.

Jorge Carlos Traianini at Presidente Perón Hospital in

Avellaneda (Buenos Aires Province), so they can treat 50

more patients from all over the country.

 

Dr. Rubén Carrizo Páez, Chief of the Chagas Programme in

Rawson Hospital in San Juan Province, could not believe his

eyes when he saw one of his patients coming towards him. It

was the same woman, who three months before, had to stop

several times just to walk 300 metres to take the bus. But

now, she was arriving by bike, after 5 kms of pedalling, and

with no evidence of over-exertion.

 

The 51 year-old patient, and another woman, a year younger

with the same disease, are the only two Argentineans on whom

the revolutionary therapy has been tried. This therapy

promises to return the hearts of people with this disease to

their full vigour and capacity to contract and deliver blood

properly to the body.

 

The therapy involves `autologous' transplant (where the

donor is also the recipient) of stem cells from the bone

marrow. The cells are delivered to the walls of the heart

through a catheter to the coronary artery, where, after 50

minutes, the cells start to find their way to the areas that

are most fibrous and scarred, to repair the damage. It looks

like magic, but it is not.

 

This new treatment was initiated by Dr. Jorge Carlos

Traianini, Chief of the Service of Cardiosurgery of

Presidente Perón's Hospital in Buenos Aires Province, who,

together with his team, co-ordinated by Dr. Noemí Lagos,

have already performed 33 transplants of different kinds of

stem and myoblast cells (muscle precursor cells) to severe

cardiac lesions, including infarcts of long standing, with

remarkable recovery of cardiovascular function.

 

The new clinical trials involving 50 patients from all over

the country, if successful, will make the treatment

generally available to patients in no more than two and a

half years. The intention is to make the treatment available

at a cost as low as U$S 500.

 

" In reality, we don't know why these stem cells help the

heart muscles to work better, " said Dr. Lagos. " It is

possible that new blood vessels are generated and also new

muscle cells, but it is not clear. Our aim is to be able to

know the intrinsic mechanisms of how this happens. But for

now the clinical results overcome all known explanations " .

 

Dr. Traianini added that, contrary to the traditional

concept that the heart was an organ incapable of

regeneration, the results show the opposite is the case;

these new therapies take maximal advantage of this auto-

repairing ability of the heart.

 

Sources

 

" Regeneración del tejido cardíaco en pacientes con

cardiomiopatía chagásica, mediante el autotransplante de

células madre de la médula ósea " . Fatala al día, año II, nro

6, Diciembre 2004.

 

http://www.anlis.gov.ar/INP/Fatalaaldia6.ppt

 

" Crean una terapia para tratar el mal de Chagas " by Gabriela

Navarra, La Nación, 10 December 2004.

 

http://www.docmedical.com/novedades_veruna.asp?notid=2117

 

 

 

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