Intracoronary Stem Cell Infusion After Acute Myocardial Infarction A Meta-Analysis and Update on Clinical Trials

Background—Several cell-based therapies for adjunctive treatment of acute myocardial infarction have been investigated in multiple clinical trials, but the benefits still remain controversial. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the efficacy of bone marrow–derived mononuclear cell (BMMNC) therapy in patients with acute myocardial infarction, but also explores the effect of newer generations of stem cells. Methods and Results—A random-effects meta-analysis was performed on randomized controlled trials investigating the effects of stem cell therapy in patients with acute myocardial infarction that were published between January 2002 and September 2013. The defined end points were left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, LV end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes, infarct size, and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event rates. Also, several subgroup analyses were performed on BMMNC trials. Overall, combining the results of 22 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), LV ejection fraction increased by +2.1...