ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:Spinocerebel ar ataxia is a inherited neurodegenerative disease with progressive cerebel ar masonic movement disorders as the main clinical manifestation. So far, no drug is available to control the disease progression. OBJECTIVE:To observe the clinical effect of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in treating spinocerebel ar ataxia by intrathecal injection. METHODS:Thirty-eight cases of spinocerebel ar ataxia were given umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells by intrathecal injection, 1×106/kg once a week, four times as a course. These 38 cases received 52 courses. Among them, 27 cases received 1 course, 8 cases received 2 courses and 3 cases received 3 courses. International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) and Activity of Daily Living Scale (ADL) were used to evaluate patients’ neural functions (the greater scores, the more severe damage) and ability of daily living (the lower score, the stronger the ability of daily living). After treatment, al patients were subjected to fol ow-up visit. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The total effective rate of 52 courses of treatment was 84.62%. ICARS and ADL scores were significantly decreased at 1 month after treatment (P<0.01). In most of effective patients, unstable walking and standing, slow movement, upper limb fine motor disorder, writing difficulties, dysarthria, eye movement disorders were improved. After treatment, common adverse effects were dizziness (1 case), low back pain (2 cases), headache (1 case), and fever (2 cases). Al these symptoms disappeared within 1-3 days. No treatment-related adverse events happened in the median fol ow-up of 39 months (11-59 months). The il ness of effective patients had been stable for 1-19 months, average (5.95±4.84) months. Intrathecal injection of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells is safe to ameliorate clinical symptoms to some extent within a certain time. It may delay the progression of spinocerebel ar ataxia. Multiple courses of treatment can help to further improve neurological function in most patients.