Newsroom

Patients treated with novel regenerative therapy developed by Dr. Duncan Stewart


June 19, 2008

The Jewish General Hospital announced today that it has treated two pulmonary hypertension patients with a novel regenerative therapy developed by Dr. Duncan Stewart, CEO and Scientific Director of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI), Vice President of Research at The Ottawa Hospital, Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa and Founding Scientist of Northern Therapeutics.

The patients are the third and fourth to be treated as part of a clinical trial that was initiated during Dr. Stewart’s previous position at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. The trial is unique in the world, as it is the first to employ patient stem cells genetically modified for clinical use in lung disease.

There is reason to believe that a similar “enhanced” cell therapy may able to help heal the heart after a heart attack and Dr. Stewart expects to test this soon in another clinical trial that would take place in several Canadian cities, including Ottawa.

Links
Press release from the Jewish General Hospital
Dr. Duncan Stewart’s OHRI Scientist Profile
CTV story on the first pulmonary hypertension patient treated in this trial