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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI) remains an important public health problem which often causes permanent loss of muscle strength, sensation, and function below the site of the injury, generating physical, psychological, and social impacts throughout the lives of the affected individuals, since there are no effective treatments available. The use of stem cells has been investigated as a therapeutic approach for the treatment of SCI. Although a significant number of studies have been conducted in pre-clinical and clinical settings, so far there is no established cell therapy for the treatment of SCI. One aspect that makes it difficult to evaluate the efficacy is the heterogeneity of experimental designs in the clinical trials that have been published. Cell transplantation methods vary widely among the trials, and there are still no standardized protocols or recommendations for the therapeutic use of stem cells in SCI. Among the different cell types, mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are the most frequently tested in clinical trials for SCI treatment. This study reviews the clinical applications of MSCs for SCI, focusing on the critical analysis of 17 clinical trials published thus far, with emphasis on their design and quality. Moreover, it highlights the need for more evidence-based studies designed as randomized controlled trials and potential challenges to be addressed in context of stem cell therapies for SCI.

Details

Title
Clinical Trials Using Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Spinal Cord Injury: Challenges in Generating Evidence
Author
Lila Teixeira de Araújo 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Macêdo, Carolina Thé 2 ; Patrícia Kauanna Fonseca Damasceno 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Ítalo Gabriel Costa das Neves 3 ; Souza de Lima, Carla 3 ; Girlaine Café Santos 1 ; Thaís Alves de Santana 1 ; Gabriela Louise de Almeida Sampaio 1 ; Nascimento Silva, Daniela 4 ; Cristiane Flora Villarreal 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Alessandra Casemiro de Campos Chaguri 3 ; Crislaine Gomes da Silva 3 ; Augusto César de Andrade Mota 6   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Badaró, Roberto 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Ricardo Ribeiro dos Santos 1 ; Milena Botelho Pereira Soares 1 

 Institute of Advanced Systems in Health, Senai Cimatec, Salvador 41650-010, BA, Brazil; [email protected] (L.T.d.A.); [email protected] (C.T.M.); [email protected] (P.K.F.D.); [email protected] (Í.G.C.d.N.); [email protected] (C.S.d.L.); [email protected] (G.C.S.); [email protected] (T.A.d.S.); [email protected] (G.L.d.A.S.); [email protected] (D.N.S.); [email protected] (A.C.d.C.C.); [email protected] (C.G.d.S.); [email protected] (R.B.); [email protected] (R.R.d.S.); Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Salvador 40296-710, BA, Brazil; [email protected] 
 Institute of Advanced Systems in Health, Senai Cimatec, Salvador 41650-010, BA, Brazil; [email protected] (L.T.d.A.); [email protected] (C.T.M.); [email protected] (P.K.F.D.); [email protected] (Í.G.C.d.N.); [email protected] (C.S.d.L.); [email protected] (G.C.S.); [email protected] (T.A.d.S.); [email protected] (G.L.d.A.S.); [email protected] (D.N.S.); [email protected] (A.C.d.C.C.); [email protected] (C.G.d.S.); [email protected] (R.B.); [email protected] (R.R.d.S.); Climério de Oliveira Hospital, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador 40055-150, BA, Brazil 
 Institute of Advanced Systems in Health, Senai Cimatec, Salvador 41650-010, BA, Brazil; [email protected] (L.T.d.A.); [email protected] (C.T.M.); [email protected] (P.K.F.D.); [email protected] (Í.G.C.d.N.); [email protected] (C.S.d.L.); [email protected] (G.C.S.); [email protected] (T.A.d.S.); [email protected] (G.L.d.A.S.); [email protected] (D.N.S.); [email protected] (A.C.d.C.C.); [email protected] (C.G.d.S.); [email protected] (R.B.); [email protected] (R.R.d.S.) 
 Institute of Advanced Systems in Health, Senai Cimatec, Salvador 41650-010, BA, Brazil; [email protected] (L.T.d.A.); [email protected] (C.T.M.); [email protected] (P.K.F.D.); [email protected] (Í.G.C.d.N.); [email protected] (C.S.d.L.); [email protected] (G.C.S.); [email protected] (T.A.d.S.); [email protected] (G.L.d.A.S.); [email protected] (D.N.S.); [email protected] (A.C.d.C.C.); [email protected] (C.G.d.S.); [email protected] (R.B.); [email protected] (R.R.d.S.); Karolinska Institutet, Department of Laboratory Medicine, 14152 Stockolm, Sweden 
 Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Salvador 40296-710, BA, Brazil; [email protected]; Faculty of Pharmacy, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador 40170-115, BA, Brazil 
 AMO Clinic/Etica Institute, Salvador 41950-640, BA, Brazil; [email protected] 
First page
1019
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20734409
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2642354651
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.