Autologous Transplantation of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells to Treat Acute Spinal Cord Injury: Evaluation of Clinical Signs, Mental Signs, and Quality of Life

Nguyen Le Bao Tien; Nguyen Dinh Hoa; Vo Van Thanh; Nguyen Van Thach; Vo Truong Nhu Ngoc; Thien Chu Dinh; Thuy Nguyen Thi Phuong; Phung Lam Toi; Dinh Toi Chu

doi:10.3889/oamjms.2019.843

Autologous Transplantation of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells to Treat Acute Spinal Cord Injury: Evaluation of Clinical Signs, Mental Signs, and Quality of Life

Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2019 Dec 20;7(24):4399-4405. doi: 10.3889/oamjms.2019.843. eCollection 2019 Dec 30.

Authors

Nguyen Le Bao Tien¹, Nguyen Dinh Hoa¹, Vo Van Thanh¹, Nguyen Van Thach², Vo Truong Nhu Ngoc³, Thien Chu Dinh⁴, Thuy Nguyen Thi Phuong⁵, Phung Lam Toi⁶, Dinh Toi Chu⁷

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery, Viet Duc Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam.
² Department of Surgery, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam.
³ School of Odonto Stomatology, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam.
⁴ Institute for Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Danang, Vietnam.
⁵ Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Life Science, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea.
⁶ Health Strategy and Policy Institute, Ministry of Health, Hanoi, Vietnam.
⁷ Faculty of Biology, Hanoi National University of Education, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Abstract

Backgroud: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage that can cause a temporary or permanent change in spinal cord functions.

Aim: This work evaluates clinical signs, mental signs, and quality of life (QoL) after autologous adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) transplantation to treat acute spinal cord injury (SCI).

Methods: In this study, 47 SCI patients were recruited and divided into two groups: intervention and control. ADSCs were isolated and cultured under the cell culture quality control procedure. All patients in both groups underwent neurosurgery with or without ADSC transplantation. The recovery regarding neurological muscle, QoL, neurogenic bladder, and mental improvement was assessed after transplantation.

Results: All patients had improved in terms of motor function, bladder function, and daily living. No patients reported any side effect. MRI imaging showed significant changes in the lesion length of the spinal canal and the thickening of the spinal cord. Mental improvement was highest at six months after transplantation and lowest at one month after transplantation. The proportion of patients whose quality of life improved after treatment was 100%, while 80% of patients were satisfied with treatment outcomes.

Conclusions: Thus, our data suggested that ADSCs transplantation was safe and effective for the treatment of SCI patients. Neurological muscle and neurogenic bladder were improved significantly after transplantation.

Keywords: Adipose-derived stem cells; Feasibility; Quality of life; Safety; Spinal cord injury.