Rygiel describes an exciting development in the improvement of heart failure management, but also signals early evidence of regenerative therapies. The author illustrates the complexity of Algisyl® injections, the challenges of implementation and adoption, and the importance of quality of life for patients with heart failure. Mike Bewick

*Katarzyna Rygiel

Department of Environmental Medicine and Epidemiology, Medical University of Silesia (SUM), Zabrze, Poland
*Correspondence to kasiaalpha@yahoo.co.uk

Disclosure: The author has declared no conflicts of interest.
Received: 24.11.16 Accepted: 30.10.17
Citation: EMJ Innov. 2018;2[1]:44-49.

Abstract

The remodelling of the heart that occurs after myocardial infarction independently contributes to heart failure (HF) progression. In a rapidly growing patient population with chronic HF, new, safe, and effective therapeutic strategies are needed. Recently, injectable biomaterial-based therapies have been gaining interest, especially for patients post myocardial infarction who have had complications due to advanced HF. One such intervention, based on Algisyl^® (LoneStar Heart Inc., Irvine, California, USA) injections, has been examined in the recent prospective, randomised, controlled AUGMENT-HF clinical trial. This paper briefly presents characteristics of Algisyl, an injectable calcium alginate hydrogel; describes a minimally invasive myoplasty procedure for the insertion of Algisyl implants; and provides a concise overview of the design, methods, and results of the AUGMENT-HF study. This paper focusses on the promising findings that Algisyl, in addition to standard medical therapy, was more effective than the standard medical therapy alone for providing sustained 6-month and 1-year benefits in exercise capacity and symptomatic improvement among patients with advanced HF. In addition, this report discusses some implications and challenges relevant to the AUGMENT-HF trial, and addresses the importance of a blind study design for further studies in this field. Moreover, this paper highlights future perspectives for examining the Algisyl implants, aimed at functional clinical outcomes, quality of life, and safety issues, prior to a possible implementation of this strategy into clinical practice.

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