Monday marks World Heart Day. One of the most serious conditions is Chronic Heart Disease. It has no cure to date - but in China, scientists are hoping to find one, using stem-cell technology. Up to ten new trial sites are being set up to test the use of stem-cell therapy in treating the disease.

Shen Ruijiang developed chronic heart disease five years ago. After surgery and a series of prescription drugs, dangerous side effects set in.

"The side effects are heavy. They can cause diabetes. I had to have a kidney transplant, so now I need to be more careful in treating my heart condition," Heart disease patient Shen Ruijiang said.

While current treatments can slow his disease, they can't cure it.

The government estimates chronic heart failure now affects 30 million Chinese people，that's more than Australia's entire population.

But stem cell therapy - a treatment now being tested at this hospital - could help. This machine is sorting the stem cells from the ordinary cells. Stem cells are veryr are but very valuable, because they help regenerate organs.

Stem-cell therapy works by re-programming patients' own cells into new organ cells, such as heartcells. If it passes this latest trial, it will enter the Chinese market and potentially save millions of lives.

There's still a long way to go. A clinical trial on human patients would need regulatory approval. And once it hits the market, experts say it must be carefully controlled.

"Stem-cell therapy is very promising to deal with chronic heart disease. After 1-2 years, we want to get results. But in the world, we are trying to find any standard, any guideline. So I am afraid, if this new technique is over-used, or illegally used, it may injure patients," Prof. Zhou Yujie, vice-president of Beijing An zhen Hospital, said.

As China's stem cell therapy is still incubating, doctors have yet to fully understand it's risks - and potential. That could change prospects for millions of patients, like Shen.

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2014年8月23日，由中国医学国际交流促进会专家工作委员会、北京中华医学会北京分会等6家单位共同主办的“缺血性心力衰竭干细胞治疗国际高峰论坛暨C-Cure®技术论证及国际多中心中国区III 期临床试验启动仪式”在北京举行。

会上，美国梅奥医疗集团再生医学中心主任Dr. Andre Terzic和比利时Aalst医院心血管中心的专家介绍了国际上干细胞治疗心衰的新技术——C-Cure®技术和C-CathEZ®导管。

C-Cure®技术从患者骨髓中提取骨髓间充质干细胞，在体外利用独有的细胞重组专利技术培养分化成心肌前体细胞，并通过心导管C-Cathez®植入患者受损心脏部位，实现心肌细胞再生，治疗缺血性心力衰竭。目前，这两项新技术分别获得了2014年欧洲医药科学大奖的“突破奖”和“最佳技术奖”两项提名。

C-Cure过程示意图

目前，C-Cure®干细胞治疗心衰研究已获批准在美国和欧盟进行III期临床试验，其预计于2016年在全球上市。C-CathEZ®导管技术于2012年4月获得欧盟合格认证和专利许可。

今年在北京、上海、广州设立8-10个国际多中心临床基地，开展中国内地III期临床研究。目前，该项技术拟率先在北京安贞医院、上海东方医院进行创新性临床研究。