ALDAGEN is supporting a clinical trial using ALDESORT to isolate a unique stem cell population for therapy for advanced heart failure patients. The study will be led by Dr. Emerson Perin and Dr. James Willerson of the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, Texas. Dr. James Willerson is president-elect and medical director of the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's and President of The University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston. Dr. Perin is director of New Cardiovascular Interventional Technology and director of the Stem Cell Center at the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's.
ALDESORT isolates a highly potent population of stem cells taken from the patient's own bone marrow. These cells are more active in restoring blood flow to damaged tissue than unfractionated bone marrow in pre-clinical animal models. These stem cells have the potential to build new blood vessels (angiogenesis) in damaged hearts which could ultimately lead to improved functional improvement in advanced heart failure patients. Using a special catheter, doctors will inject these stem cells directly into the muscle of the left ventricle along the periphery of the damaged area of the heart.
