(Circulation. 2001;104:e9057.)
© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.
Cardiovascular News
Circulation News Contributor
Bone Marrow Implant May Improve Blood Flow in Limbs
Eleven patients with peripheral artery disease who received implants of their own bone marrow cells into their legs had ankle brachial pressure indices that improved from 0.26 to 0.41 four weeks after the procedure, said Hiroaki Matsubara, MD, PhD, of Kansai Medical University in Osaka, Japan, at the 2001 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association in Anaheim, Calif, on November 13, 2001.
In 10 patients, pain-free treadmill time increased from 2.5 minutes before the procedure to 5.3 minutes afterward. In addition, ulcers related to ischemia cleared up in the same patients, said Dr Matsubara. No improvement was reported in the opposite limbs, which received a placebo injection.
Dr Matsubara said the 500 mL of marrow cells was taken from the patients’ ilial crests while they were under general anesthesia. In the laboratory, the cells were sorted to concentrate the volume to 30 mL. Dr Matsubara implanted the cells at 40 different sites on the muscles in the ischemic lower limb.
Being Too Thin Could Increase Risk for Heart Disease
Thin may be in, but being too thin could increase the risk posed by a heart attack, according to a French study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in Anaheim, Calif, on November 13, 2001. Using a French national registry, the researchers analyzed data on >2000 patients who had a heart attack in November of 1995 to see how thin patients fared after 1 year compared with individuals of moderate weight.
"Patients who had the worst prognosis were the patients who were the leanest," said Nicolas Danchin,