Stem cells are doing wonders these days. They are the cells that can differentiate into different types of cells when the body of the organism develops. These cells have been helpful in treating various diseases whether they are hereditary like cystic fibrosis or acquired diseases like cancers. It is the work of the scientists and researchers who spend their time in finding and developing different techniques to cure the diseases. Recently scientists have been able to treat the heart disease by using stem cells.

Researchers of the Centre hospitalier de l'University de Montreal (CRCHUM), in collaboration with the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital (MRH) have stated that some patients who have suffered from a severe heart attack will soon be able to get benefit from a novel treatment. In this treatment stem cells will be injected into the hearts of the patients when they will be undergoing coronary bypass surgery. Scientists are still evaluating the safety and feasibility of this treatment. By the injection of the stem cells into the heart will help the heart to heal and function effectively.

The patients who are suffering from the ischemic heart disease are more likely to undergo this treatment. In this disease, the blood supply to the heart decreases which results in the failure of the heart. The treatment is going to be given to the patients by IMPACT CABG (implementation of autologous CD133+ stem cells). Recently medical team has given first treatment of progenitor CD133+ stem cells to a patient who is fully recovered and doing very well since the time of the surgery. His heart is pumping the blood t different parts of the body efficiently. The stem cells were isolated from his bone marrow. They were cultured at the Cell Therapy Laboratory of MRH to make multiple copies of the identical cells having same characteristics.

Objective of the Intervention:-
The study of the impact-CABG targets few patients who suffer from heart muscle failure in which blood supply to the heart decreases and as a result person suffers from heart attack. The person then undergoes coronary bypass surgery. This treatment is the new addition to the heart surgery. The benefit of this treatment is the procedure of heart surgery is less expensive and less persistent than the heart transplant which is risky as well as there is no guarantee that for how much time new heart will function properly.

After the success of this treatment in one patient, researchers are now planning to make a group of 20 people in first phase. They will be treated with the same method at Quebec. Quebec is the second Canadian centre at the General Hospital of the Toronto University. Other countries also evaluated the safety and feasibility of injecting the stem cells into the person undergoing heart surgery before the IMPACT-CABG trial. Dr. Nicolas Noiseux, cardiac surgeon at the CHUM and principal investigator in the study has stated that this study is being held first time in Canada in which evaluation of intramyocardial injection of stem cells is taking place. Before this treatment, there was no research going on in which the stem cells are taken from the bone marrow, enriched and then injected directly into the myocardium of the heart of the patient.

First the stem cells are taken from the bone marrow and are harvested at the CHUM. Then they are transferred to the cell therapy laboratory of the MRH. In the laboratory, they are isolated. Those stem cells are isolated which are most immature because they have better chances of differentiating into the desired cell types. After this procedure they will be injected into patient's heart.

The research took place due to the collaboration of the CRCHUM, the CHUM's Cardiology, the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital's Cell Therapy Laboratory, Miltenyi Biotech and Cardiac Surgery Services, , Health Canada, the Radiology Department and the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec.

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