Abstract
Cellular sheet transplantation is a fundamental technique of regenerative medicine, which is widely applicable to the whole cellular sources including skeletal myoblasts, cardiac myocytes, embryonic stem cells (ES) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). In 2007, this author succeeded withdrawal from left ventricular assist system (LVAS) in a patient with severe dilated cardiomyopathy requiring cardiac transplantation by using this cellular sheet transplantation, and confirmed that this patient is fine at present. After obtaining this clinical evidence of the first successful case in human, more than 50 cases of end–stage heart failure were treated with this technique, and two of them were capable of rehabilitation at home without any support of LVAS. This line of evidence verified clinically that cellular sheet transplantation technique is a safe and effective treatment strategy for advanced heart failure by improving symptoms, cardiac function and life prognosis. According to the technological diffusion, a health insurance publication was approved after completing the company clinical trials with respect to the cellular sheet transplantation applied to the patients with severe ischemic cardiomyopathy. Furthermore, this author commenced two doctor–oriented clinical trials concerning the cellular sheet transplantation for adults and children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, respectively.
