Saved by His Cat, Heart Attack Survivor Is First Toronto Patient in a Groundbreaking Cell Therapy Trial

June 16, 2014

(The Toronto Star) – After a severe heart attack five weeks ago, the 67-year-old has become the first Toronto patient to enter a groundbreaking cell therapy trial led by researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. In a world first, the Canadian study uses genetically enhanced stem cells to repair damaged muscle in heart attack survivors. The souped-up cells are the patient’s own, made young and healthy again — fountain-of-youth style — in a laboratory. Cell therapy researchers across the globe are monitoring the study, cautiously optimistic that it could lead to a breakthrough the field has long been waiting for.