Prairie Heart

There is something very unique going on at the Prairie Heart Institute in Springfield, Illinois.

Prairie Heart Institute is participating in an investigational clinical study called ALLSTAR, using donor heart cells that may help patients who have suffered a heart attack regenerate the dead heart muscle that is often the result of such an event. Heart muscle dies even if the patient survives a heart attack. This results in a less efficient heart and reduces blood flow through the body.

The Prairie Heart Institute at St. John's hospital in Springfield, Illinois is one of approximately thirty sites testing the investigational procedure in the ALLSTAR trial sponsored by Capricor, Inc., a Los Angeles biotechnology company. The procedure infuses healthy cardiac cells from a donor heart that are meant to boost the damaged heart's natural ability to repair itself. If it works, functional heart muscle should grow replacing the dead heart muscle thereby potentially improving the strength and efficiency of the beating heart.

The trial has successfully completed Phase I, which mainly evaluated safety. Capricor has received permission to begin Phase II, and ALLSTAR will continue to examine safety along with efficacy in approximately 300 patients who will receive either the investigational procedure or a placebo. More information can be found at clinicaltrials.gov under the identifier NCT01458405.

"The previous study used autologous cells, taken from the treated patient itself. However, using donor cells may be preferable over autologous for practical reasons," said Dr. Frank Aguirre, the cardiologist heading up the clinical study at Prairie Heart Institute. "Donor cells, called allogeneic cells, can be banked in advance and used when needed, said Aguirre, similar to a blood transfusion. Theyre also less expensive because of economies of scale"

Research by Capricor founder Dr. Eduardo Marbn discovered the heart contained cells with regenerative capacity.

"No one knew these existed, Aguirre said. Everyone thought the heart was an organ that couldnt repair itself. But it turns out that may be wrong, and that there are early progenitor types cells in the heart that may be effective."

When injected into hearts, unlike embryonic stem cells which are expected to engraft into the target organ, these progenitor cells are expected to remain transiently in the heart but induce growth of new heart tissue which continues after they are no longer present.

We invite health consumers to participate in the AllStar trial please click here to see if you qualify.

If you believe you may qualify for the ALLSTAR trial, please call 217-492-9105.

The Prairie Heart Institute of Illinois (PHII) is a community-based network of hospitals that offer cardiovascular programs staffed by the nationally recognized Prairie Cardiovascular Consultants, the largest group of cardiologists in the tri-state region. Because of the Prairie Education and Research Consortium (PERC), network hospitals also have access to drugs and treatment not widely available. The network hospitals of PHII offer the highest level of cardiovascular care possible in their communities. When more specialized care is needed, it is available in Springfield, Belleville or Carbondale.

PERC was founded in 1983 to facilitate cardiovascular and vascular clinical research, thereby integrating state of the art medical science and bedside patient care. PERC has been instrumental in fostering collaborative efforts between physicians, medical industry, and the international clinical research community, as all parties work together to study the introduction of new pharmaceuticals, cardiovascular techniques and medical devices. Over the past two decades, the evolution of this important cooperative effort has been reflected in the growth of PERC to its present size.

See the original post here:
Prairie Heart