Abstract:

Forty-three patients with chronic spinal cord injury for over 6 months were transplanted with em-bryonic olfactory ensheathing cells, 2–4 × 106, into multiple sites in the injured area under the sur-gical microscope. The sympathetic skin response in patients was measured with an electromyog-raphy/evoked potential instrument 1 day before transplantation and 3–8 weeks after transplantation. Spinal nerve function of patients was assessed using the American Spinal Injury Association im-pairment scale. The sympathetic skin response was elicited in 32 cases before olfactory ensheathing cell transplantation, while it was observed in 34 cases after transplantation. Concomi-tantly, sympathetic skin response latency decreased significantly and amplitude increased signifi-cantly after transplantation. Transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cells also improved American Spinal Injury Association scores for movement, pain and light touch. Our findings indicate that ol-factory ensheathing cell transplantation improves motor, sensory and autonomic nerve functions in patients with chronic spinal cord injury.

Key words: neural regeneration, spinal cord injury, clinical practice, olfactory ensheathing cells, cell transplan-tation, olfactory ensheathing cell transplantation, sympathetic skin response, neurological function, autonomic nerve, paralysis, neuroregeneration