Objective To analyze the therapeutic effect of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) transplantation for central nervous system diseases. Methods Between November 2001 and January 2008, 1 255 participants with central nervous system diseases were enrolled in this cl inical study for fetal OECs transplantation. There were 928 males and 327 femalesaged 1.2-87 (mean 40) years. The course of disease was (4.52 ± 4.67) years. Among them, 656 participants suffered from chronic spinal cord injury (SCI), 457 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), 68 cerebral palsy (CP), 20 multiple sclerosis (MS), 11 the sequelae of stoke, 10 ataxia, and 33 residual diseases. The participants came from 71 countries or regions. Accidentally abortional fetal olfactory bulbs were donated voluntarily and were cultured for 2 weeks, then were transplanted. Results One thousand one hundred and twenty-eight cases were followed up for 2-8 weeks (mean 4 weeks) to obtain integrated data. Among them, the neurological functional amel ioration was noticed in 994 participants with the overall short-term improvement rate of 88.12%. Seventy-six patients experienced the various perioperative compl ications with the incidence rate of 6.74%. One hundred and twenty patients with SCI received over 1 year follow-up. And according to ASIA assessment, motor scores increased from (39.82 ± 20.25) to (44.55 ± 18.99) points, l ight touch scores from (51.56 ± 25.89) to (59.81 ± 27.72) points, pain scores from (50.36 ± 27.44) to (57.09 ± 28.51) points for foreign patients (P lt; 0.05); motor scores increased from (40.52 ± 20.80) to (46.45 ± 20.35) points, l ight touch scores from (55.64 ± 26.32) to (68.64 ± 25.89) points, pain scores from (57.05 ± 26.00) to (66.13 ± 24.29) points for good rehabil itation Chinese patients (overall P lt; 0.05); motor scores from (37.03 ± 18.52) to (38.03 ± 18.50 points (P lt;0.05), l ight touch scores from (45.88 ± 22.56) to (46.63 ± 23.09) points (P gt; 0.05), pain scores from (45.25 ± 23.68) to (45.28 ± 23.63) points (P gt; 0.05) for poor rehabil itation Chinese patients. Compared foreign patients and good rehabil itation Chinese patients with poor rehabil itation Chinese patients, difference in score change was remarkable (P lt; 0.05). One hundred and six cases of ALS, 32 CP, 8 MS, 7 ataxia, and 2 stroke sequelae were followed up for 3-48, 3-36, 2-20, 7-17, 6 and 24 months, One hundred and six cases of respectively. Majority of them (113/155, 72.9%)were benefited from OECs transplantation. Conclusion OECs transplantation into brain and spinal cord is feasible and safe . The therapeutic strategy is valuable treatment for such central nervous system diseases such as chronic SCI, ALS, CP and stroke sequelae and can improve the patients’ neurological functions and/or decrease the progressive deterioration.
Objective To introduce a new functional self-assessment scale of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods By comparing current different ALS functional scales and combining relative cl inical experience and numeric pain intensity scale, ALS self-assessment scale was set down by International Association of Neural Restoration. Results ALS self-assessment scale included 3 categories with 18 items, adopting 10 points grading system, namely 10 was defined as the normal, 0 as the worst, and the total scores was 180. This scale included: ① Bulbus medullae function: speech, swallowing, sal ivation, and tongue extension. ② Limbs function: left arm movement, left hand movement, right arm movement, right hand movement, left leg movement, right leg movement, trunk movement, head-up, walking, and cl imbing stairs. ③ Others: breathing, muscular tone, pain, and muscle discomfort. Conclusion ALS self-assessment scale is specifically designed for ASL patients. It can evaluate patient’s function comprehensively and is simple and convenient, consuming less time.