Stem Cell Therapy Pioneer, Dr. Amit Patel, Treats More Heart Failure Patients in Bangkok

One of the world’s leading physicians in adult stem cell therapy for heart disease, Dr. Amit Patel M.D., returned to Thailand this week to oversee the treatment of three more American heart patients and one Australian patient by leading Thai thoracic surgeons and cardiologists.

Bangkok October 6, 2005 -- One of the world's leading physicians in adult stem cell therapy for heart disease, Dr. Amit Patel M.D., returned to Thailand this week to oversee the treatment of three more American heart failure patients and one Australian patient by leading Thai thoracic surgeons and cardiologists.

Dr. Patel decided to continue treating patients suffering from non-ischemic cardiomyopathy in Thailand after MRI testing confirmed the improvement of his first patient, Jeannine Lewis, three months after she received stem cell therapy there. Ms. Lewis was a no-option patient who was unable to qualify for any clinical trials. She was in Class III-IV heart failure (the borderline of needing a heart transplant) and on maximal oral medical therapy. Her preoperative echocardiogram showed an Ejection Fraction (EF) of 25-30%. At three months, her EF had improved to 41% and she was reclassified in only Class I (the mildest form) heart failure. Her shortening fraction and stroke volume had also increased.

"I am encouraged by our initial success in Thailand and I am looking forward to returning here to treat more patients in the near future," said Dr. Patel.

Recently, Dr. Patel, who is the Director of Cardiac Stem Cell Therapies at The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), received approval from the US FDA to initiate clinical trials using adult stem cells derived from bone marrow to treat heart patients at UPMC.

In Thailand, Dr. Patel is using VesCell™ adult stem cell technology from TheraVitae® in conjunction with the minimally invasive thoracoscopic injection procedure that he pioneered. VesCell employs adult stem cells harvested from a small amount of the patient's own blood and does not require bone marrow extraction.

Currently, two leading hospitals in Bangkok are using VesCell adult stem cells to treat patients who are suffering from heart disease. Bangkok Heart Hospital is focusing on the treatment of non-ischemic cardiomyopathy and Chaophya Hospital is concentrating its efforts on ischemic heart disease (coronary artery disease).

About VesCell
http://www.vescell.com

VesCell consists of a patient’s own adult stem cells harvested from approximately ½ pint of the patient's own blood and is used to treat heart disorders. Once harvested, the cells are differentiated and expanded in vitro at the TheraVitae laboratories in Israel and are ready for implantation in about one week. The cellular product is a viable alternative for patients who either cannot undergo or choose not to undergo the standard revascularization treatments such as Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG).

About TheraVitae
http://www.theravitae.com

TheraVitae is a private, multinational company focused on using stem cells from the patient's own blood in order to treat a variety of disorders, especially cardiovascular diseases. The company has developed a proprietary stem cell technology called VesCell that is currently being used by hospitals in Thailand to treat patients with heart disease. TheraVitae is based in Bangkok, Thailand, Kiryat Weizmann, Israel, and Hong Kong.

TheraVitae, Ltd.
36/72 PS Tower, 21/Fl.,
Sukhumvit 21, Klongtoey Nua,
Bangkok 10110
Thailand
1-866-690-2008 (Toll Free in US)

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