Transplantation of Autologous Olfactory Ensheathing Cells in Complete Human Spinal Cord Injury

The increasing number of patients (mostly young), who have sustained a spinal cord injury mainly as a result of motor vehicle accidents, falls or violence has become worldwide a serious clinical, social and economical problem. Most accepted treatment protocols for spinal cord injury focus on techniques of early neuro-protection aimed at maximal prevention of secondary spinal cord injury (administration of methylprednisolon and spinal cord surgical decompression) as well as on methods of stimulation of plasticity in the central nervous system (neurorehabilitation). While these methods have been shown to stimulate functional recovery in patients with incomplete spinal cord injury, the results of treatment of patients with severe incomplete and complete spinal cord injuries remain unsatisfactory. This is due to the lack of spontaneous regeneration of lesioned axons in the spinal cord. Results from a substantial number of animal experiments performed mainly on the model of mammalian spinal cord injury in the last 3 decades led to the establishment of numerous regeneration-promoting strategies including application of neurotrophic factors, antibodies blocking the myelin-associated proteins and transplantation of cells with neurotrophic activity. Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) are an unique population of macroglia found in the lamina propria of olfactory mucosa, around the olfactory nerve fascicles and in the two outer layers of the olfactory bulb. These cells have the natural ability to stimulate the regrowth of lesioned peripheral and central axons. In a Phase I non-randomized controlled prospective study we have tested the hypothesis that a combined approach for treatment of complete spinal cord injuries consisting of intraspinal transplantation of a mixture of autologous OECs and fibroblasts isolated from the olfactory mucosa, combined with intense neuro-rehabilitation is safe and feasible.