Intraspinal injection of human umbilical cord-derived hematopoietic stem cells in ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder with marginal therapeutic options. Degeneration of motor neurons in the primary motor cortex, brain stem and spinal cord lead to rapidly progressive paralyses and finally to death due to respiratory failure. As pharmacological therapies have failed to provide sufficient neuroprotective effects in ALS, transplantation of stem or progenitor cells is considered a promising treatment strategy. Cell transplantation approaches in ALS mainly aim to generate a neuroprotective environment for degenerating motoneurons by transplantation of non-neuronal cells, rather than to replace lost motoneurons.

We present a 63year old male patient suffering from ALS who underwent intraspinal cord injection of human CD34+ umbilical cord-derived hematopoietic stem cells with a three-year clinical and electrophysiological follow up after transplantation.