Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) were shown to induce
beneficial effects in animal models of neurodegeneration and in pilot human
trials in multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Aim: An open-label, clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy
of repeated intrathecal administrations of autologous-MSC in ALS-patients.
Methods: The study included 20 subjects (age: 20–70) with definite
diagnosis of ALS and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale
Revised (ALSFRS-R) score of 20. The patients were treated with 1–4
intrathecal injections of MSC, at intervals of 3–6 months. The primary endpoints
were safety and tolerability. Efficacy measurements including ALSFRS-R score and
forced vital capacity (FVC), were assessed as secondary endpoints.
Results: No serious adverse events were observed during the whole period
of the trial. One patient withdrew from the study before the first
injection. The monthly rate of progression in ALSFRS-R was ameliorated
by more than 25% in 15/19 patients between the 1st and 2nd injection (mean
improvement of 107.1%); in 11/12 between the 2nd and 3rd injection and in 8/10
between the 3rd and 4th injection. Overall, during the whole period till the last
transplantation 13 patients had a 25% improvement in the slope of progression
of ALSFRS-R (mean improvement of 47.4%, p 0.0038, Wilcoxon rank
signed test). 7 out of 19 patients actually improved clinically (range of
increase in ALSFRS-R: +1 to +4 degrees) after the first transplantation and 5
remained improved after the second cycle. The response rate correlated with the
time-intervals between the injections. Conclusion: The results of our
study show that repeated intrathecal injections of autologous MSC was safe in
patients with ALS and provide indications of
medium-term clinical benefits that were related to the intervals between the
administrations of the cells. Larger studies are needed to confirm these
observations.