Transplantation of autologous adult bone marrow stem cells in patients with servere peripheral arterial occlusion disease

Background: For many patients with severe per ipheral arterial occlusion disease (PAOD) an iriterventional or surgical treatment is not feasible. The regenerative potential of adult autologous mononuclear stern cells could contribute to neoangiogenesis. Patients and Methods: Ten patients with severe PAOD were included. The walking distance was < 200 m and no interventional or surgical treatinent was possible. After harvesting of 80 ml of bone marrow the mononuclear cell fraction was separated. Thereafter, intraarterial (10 ml into tile common femoral-artery) and intramuscular (5 ml into the muscles of the thigh and the lower leg) transplantation of the cell suspension was performed. Results: After 2 months the walking distance was enhanced significantly in all patients. Furthermore, a significant improvement of ankle-brachial index at rest, capillary-venous oxygen saturation and parameters of venous occlusion plethysmography was seen. No complications or side effects could be monitored. Conclusion: These results demonstrate, that the combined intraarterial and intramuscular transplantation of autologous adult bone marrow stem cells leads to a significant improvement of perfusion indices in patients with severe PAOD.