Treatment With Autologous Skeletal Myoblasts

Ischaemic heart disease is one of the main causes of mortality and morbidity. In particular, myocardial infarction (MI) is of special significance, as the heart muscle cannot regenerate so a region's necrosis leads to the formation of a fibrous scar. Depending on the area affected by the scar, infarction can lead to a progressive and irreversible decline in cardiac function, giving way to heart failure (HF) syndrome. The molecular basis of congestive heart failure is the absence of cardiac stem cells capable of regenerating cardiac muscle. In the skeletal muscle, there are cells located beneath the basal membrane with are capable of regenerating muscle fibres; they are known as myoblasts. There are several studies with autologous myoblasts, either by direct administration during surgery or percutaneously, which could distinguish between the effect of revascularisation surgery and that of the myoblast injection. The objective of this study is compare improvement in global and regional cardiac function in patients with old MI obtained by aortocoronary bypass surgery with intracardiac administration of autologous skeletal myoblasts versus standard aortocoronary bypass surgery treatment.