3 trials at Valley hospitals (Arizona) target heart disease

Two Southeast Valley hospitals are taking aim at the No. 1 killer in America. Mercy Gilbert Medical Center and Chandler Regional Medical Center have launched three clinical trials designed to repair damaged hearts. The first trial will attempt to regrow heart muscles damaged after a heart attack with adult stem cells from bone marrow. The second trial will employ a process known as angiogenesis growing new blood vessels damaged by heart disease. The third trial will use an artificial device to keep the heart pumping while doctors implant a stent to treat weakened and narrowed heart arteries. Dr. Nabil Dib, the center's director, said the first trial is among the most promising technologies because early results show that bone marrow taken from one donor can help 10,000 patients "without the need for any anti-rejection medicine, which is huge." Dib's research is groundbreaking because it reveals that heart tissue damaged by a heart attack can be repaired. The three trials give hope to the sickest cardiac patients, Dib said. - azcentral.com