Pain-diminishing effects of Kinesio® taping after median sternotomy.

Background: Postoperative pain and severe side effects of opioid analgesics present a clinical challenge after cardio-thoracic surgery. In this study, the impact of Kinesio® taping on postoperative morbidity after median sternotomy was observed.

Methods: Thirty-nine patients (mean age 66 ± 9 years, CI: 63.

Laser-supported CD133+ cell therapy in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy: initial results from a prospective phase I multicenter trial.

Objectives: This study evaluates the safety, principal feasibility and restoration potential of laser-supported CD133+ intramyocardial cell transplantation in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Methods: Forty-two patients with severe ischemic cardiomyopathy (left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) >15% and <35%) were included in this prospective multicenter phase I trial. They underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with subsequent transepicardial low-energy laser treatment and autologous CD133+ cell transplantation, and were followed up for 12 months.

Clinical application of adult stem cells for therapy for cardiac disease.

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death worldwide. Different medical and surgical therapeutic options are well established, but a significant number of patients are not amenable to standard therapeutic options. Cell-based therapies after clinical application have shown different results in recent years.

Clinical labeling and imaging of transplanted CD133+/CD34+ stem cells in patients with ischemic heart disease.

The application of somatic stem cells has been shown to support the recovery of the myocardium in end-stage heart failure. A novel method for the intraoperative isolation and labeling of bone marrow-derived stem cells was established. After induction of general anesthesia, up to 400 mL of bone marrow were harvested from the posterior iliac crest and processed in the operating room under good manufacturing practice conditions by means of the automated cell-selection device Clini-MACS (Miltenyi Biotec).

Intraoperative CD133+ cell transplantation during coronary artery bypass grafting in ischemic cardiomyopathy.

If traditional treatment of coronary artery disease has failed, intramyocardial transplantation of CD133+ stem cells with the potential to improve myocardial function is an alternative approach to treating ischemic cardiomyopathy. The INSTEM trial aims at evaluating safety and feasibility of isolation and subsequent intramyocardial transplantation of CD133+ cells in combination with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Patients suffering from severe ischemic cardiomyopathy (ejection fraction ≫15% and ≪35%) are enrolled in this trial.

In vivo echocardiographic imaging of transplanted human adult stem cells in the myocardium labeled with clinically applicable CliniMACS nanoparticles.

Objectives: Intramyocardial transplantation of bone marrow-derived cells is currently under clinical evaluation as a therapy of heart failure. A major limitation of all clinical studies dealing with myocardial cell engraftment is the inability to track the fate of the transplanted cells. We present a clinically applicable technique using transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) of CliniMACS nanoparticle labeled transplanted CD133+ cells in ischemic hearts.