Spinal cord injuries are serious injuries that have a negative long-term impact on the quality of life of patients, often causing disability. The issues of effective treatment of traumatic lesions, including spinal cord injuries, are extremely relevant now, during the full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine.
In the last decade, cell therapy is increasingly used in the treatment and rehabilitation of children and adults with diseases of the nervous system, primarily in cases of cerebral palsy, stroke, spinal cord injuries, and Parkinson’s disease. The results of the first studies on the use of umbilical cord blood in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease were published. For the regenerative therapy of injuries the most promising are mesenchymal stem cells, which are most often obtained from the umbilical cord, placenta, bone marrow, and adipose tissue. Mesenchymal stem cells have an anti-inflammatory effect, are capable of differentiating into cells of cartilage, bone, muscle, and fat tissues, and by synthesizing powerful growth factors, they stimulate the recovery of other damaged tissues. Literature data also indicate their neuroprotective effect.
Recently, the journal Cytotherapy published the results of a phase 1-2 clinical trial in which autologous (own) mesenchymal stem cells from the bone marrow or umbilical cord were used in 20 patients with a spinal cord injury that occurred at least a year ago. Mesenchymal stem cells were administered to patients intrathecally. Patients were observed for almost 2 years. The therapeutic effectiveness of cell therapy was noted in both groups (according to materials: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38703153/)
In Ukraine, the Institute of Cell Therapy is actively developing treatment methods using stem cells in the treatment and rehabilitation of neurological and trauma patients. Recall that the scientists of the Institute of Cell Therapy in cooperation with the Institute of Neurosurgery n.a. A.P. Romodanov NAMNU developed a technique for the treatment of spinal hernias using cultured chondrocytes, which was recognized by the AMS of Ukraine as the best scientific work of 2016 (https://stemcellbank.org.ua/sovmestnyj-proekt-instituta-nejroxirurgii-i-instituta-kletochnoj-terapii-pobeditel-konkursa-namnu/?lang=en/). Methods of treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee joint using mesenchymal stem cells from the umbilical cord and placenta were tested in clinical studies (more at the link https://www.stemcellclinic.com/andrij-shevchenko-pro-dosvid-likuvannya-stovburovymy-klitynamy-v-klinitsi-instytutu-klitynnoyi-terapiyi/). And in response to today’s challenges, the Institute of Cell Therapy has developed a method of treating gunshot and mine-explosive wounds using the amniotic membrane obtained from the placenta (more at the link https://cryobank.ua/uk/news-uk/platsenta-dlya-likuvannya-j-reabilitatsiyi-poranenyh/)
