Stem Cell Therapy and Congenital Heart Disease

Value of Galectin-3 assay in children with heart failure secondary to congenital heart diseases: a prospective study

BACKGROUND

Galectin-3 is a new biomarker, which plays an important role in tissue inflammation, cardiac remodeling, and fibrosis. It can be readily measured in the circulation to detect early heart failure (HF). This study aimed to assess the value of galectin-3 assay in early diagnosis of children with heart failure secondary to congenital heart disease (CHD) and correlate it with the patients' outcome.

METHODS

This prospective cohort study included 75 children diagnosed to have CHD; {Group A: 45 CHD children with HF symptoms and reduced ejection fraction (REF) and Group B: 30 CHD children with no HF symptoms and normal ejection fraction (NEF)}. They were compared to 40 age- and sex-matched controls (Group C). Children with CHD undergone history taking, Ross HF classification, Echocardiographic assessment and laboratory investigations including serum galactin-3 level.

RESULTS

Galectin-3 serum level increased in CHD children, and it showed significant increase in (Gp A) compared to Gp B or Gp C (p = ≤ 0.001). In addition, serum level of Galactin-3 was correlated positively with Ross classification (r = 0.68, p = 0.018) and negatively correlated to EF% (r= -0.61, p ≤ 0.001). Galactin-3 showed better diagnostic value than Ross HF classification in early diagnosis of HF in CHD children with a cut point (≥ 10.4), significantly had 96.7% sensitivity, 90% specificity, 91% positive predictive value, 93.2% negative predictive value, with area under the curve (AUC = 0.96) and 93% accuracy. While there was a significant correlation between Ross HF classification and HF outcome in (Gp A) children (p = 0.05), we did not find any significant correlation between serum galectin-3 level and HF mortality in same group (p = 0.08).

CONCLUSIONS

Galectin-3 assay is a promising marker for early diagnosis of HF in children with CHD; but it has no role in detecting HF mortality.

Stem cells: will they cure pediatric heart failure?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the state of cardiac regenerative medicine, including the unique opportunities and challenges in its application to pediatric patients.

RECENT FINDINGS

There has been a rapid proliferation of clinical studies using stem cells in adults with heart failure, yet little convincing evidence of clinically significant improvement. Readers will develop an understanding of the current limitations of stem cell treatments and the challenges to be overcome before they can achieve successful clinical translation.

SUMMARY

Clinical trials in cardiac regeneration using stem cells are advancing rapidly despite clear knowledge of mechanism and rigorous evidence in animal models. The potential for cardiac regeneration in children may be greater than in adults, given the smaller degree of scar present in nonischemic heart disease and the greater potential of the younger heart for repair. However, similar to adult trials, there has yet to be convincing evidence of a positive effect in pediatric patients, and rigorous controlled studies are still lacking. There is still much biology to be learned in cardiac regeneration; future clinical trials in children should be based on solid evidence in animal models of both efficacy and safety.

A review of application of stem cell therapy in the management of congenital heart disease

Research on stem cells has been rapidly growing with impressive breakthroughs. Although merely a few of the laboratory researches have successfully transited to the clinical trial phase, the application of stem cells as a therapeutic option for some currently incapacitating diseases hold fascinating potentials. This review emphasis the various opportunities for the application of stem cell in the treatment of fetal diseases. First, we provide a brief commentary on the common stem cell strategy used in the treatment of congenital anomalies, thereafter we discuss how stem cell is being used in the management of some fetal disorders.