Influence of patients' age on functional recovery after transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cells into injured spinal cord injury.
- Author:
Hongyun HUANG
1
;
Lin CHEN
;
Hongmei WANG
;
Bo XIU
;
Bingchen LI
;
Rui WANG
;
Jian ZHANG
;
Feng ZHANG
;
Zheng GU
;
Ying LI
;
Yinglun SONG
;
Wei HAO
;
Shuyi PANG
;
Junzhao SUN
Author Information
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- MeSH: Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Olfactory Bulb; cytology; transplantation; Spinal Cord; physiology; Spinal Cord Injuries; surgery; Treatment Outcome
- From: Chinese Medical Journal 2003;116(10):1488-1491
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVETo evaluate the restoration of function after spinal cord injury (SCI) in patients of different ages who have underwent intraspinal transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs).
METHODSOne hundred and seventy-one SCI patients were included in this study. Of them, 139 were male and 32 were female, with age ranging from 2 to 64 years (mean, 34.9 years). In all SCI patients the lesions were injected at the time of operation with OECs. According to their ages, the patients were divided into 5 groups: = 20 years group (n = 9), 21 - 30 years group (n = 54), 31 - 40 years group (n = 60), 41 - 50 years group (n = 34) and > 51 years group (n = 14). The spinal cord function was assessed based on the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Classification System before and 2 - 8 weeks after OECs transplantation. One-way ANOVA and q test were used for statistical analysis, and the data were expressed as mean +/- SD.
RESULTSAfter surgery, the motor scores increased by 5.2 +/- 4.8, 8.6 +/- 8.0, 8.3 +/- 8.8, 5.7 +/- 7.3 and 8.2 +/- 7.6 in 5 age groups respectively (F = 1.009, P = 0.404); light touch scores increased by 13.9 +/- 8.1, 15.5 +/- 14.3, 12.0 +/- 14.4, 14.1 +/- 18.5 and 24.8 +/- 25.3 respectively (F = 1.837, P = 0.124); and pin prick scores increased by 11.1 +/- 7.9, 17.2 +/- 14.3, 13.2 +/- 11.8, 13.6 +/- 13.9 and 25.4 +/- 24.3 respectively (F = 2.651, P = 0.035). Restoration of pin prick in > 51 years group was better than other age groups except 21 - 30 years group.
CONCLUSIONOECs transplantation can improve the neurological function of spinal cord of SCI patients regardless of their ages. Further research into the long-term outcomes of the treatment will be required.