-
European Spine Journal : Official... May 2015The debate on the effects and outcome of olfactory ensheathing cell (OEC) transplantation for the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI) has remained unresolved for... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
PURPOSE
The debate on the effects and outcome of olfactory ensheathing cell (OEC) transplantation for the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI) has remained unresolved for nearly 20 years. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of OEC transplantation in chronic SCI patients.
METHOD
Electronic databases, including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and MEDLINE, were searched to identify clinical therapeutic trials studying the use of OEC transplantation for SCI in humans. Each trial was analyzed in accordance with the criteria of the Cochrane Handbook 5.1.0 and MOOSE. Data were analyzed with Review Manager 5.2 and Meta-Analyst Beta 3.13 software.
RESULTS
Eleven articles concerning 10 studies of 1,193 patients with chronic SCI treated with OEC transplantation were selected for review. All the articles had low methodological quality. Studies reported their outcomes using the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale; the AISA motor, light touch, pinprick score; the Functional Independence Measure and (or) other measure methods. According to the available relevant data, the incidences of total adverse events and mortality were 7.68% (n = 742) and 0.35% (n = 566), respectively. The most frequently reported adverse events were fever, mild anemia, and syringomyelia; however, the statistical adverse events occurring in different studies were cerebrospinal fluid leakage (7.00%, n = 586, 2 trials), sensory deterioration (0.70%, n = 573, 2 trials), and both motor and sensory deterioration (0.68%, n = 586, 2 trials).
CONCLUSIONS
Given the results from our study, we conclude that OEC transplantation appears to be safe, although the evidence for efficacy is modest and requires the support of prospective, randomized trials in larger cohorts of patients. Further randomized controlled trials utilizing strict therapy programs and implanted cell selections are needed to confirm these findings.
Topics: Cell Transplantation; Chronic Disease; Humans; Nerve Regeneration; Olfactory Mucosa; Prospective Studies; Spinal Cord Injuries
PubMed: 25001890
DOI: 10.1007/s00586-014-3416-6 -
Molecular Neurobiology Feb 2015Continuous renewal of neurons throughout life in the olfactory system is often thought to be partially attributable to specialized glial cells called olfactory... (Review)
Review
Continuous renewal of neurons throughout life in the olfactory system is often thought to be partially attributable to specialized glial cells called olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs). Hitherto, several studies have demonstrated that transplantation of OECs is one of the most promising strategies available to augment axonal regeneration and functional recovery following damage to the nervous system, including spinal cord injury (SCI). Based on these studies, a number of pre-clinical studies worldwide have been initiated using autologous transplantation of OECs into damaged central and peripheral nervous systems. Although OECs play a major role in promotion of neuron regeneration of the injured central nervous system (CNS), especially to SCI, limited valuable information is available regarding the beneficial characteristics of OECs in facilitating neural regeneration. Moreover, an increasing number of controversial issues related to the biology of OECs and their transplantation must be addressed. This step is important to better understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms modulated by transplanted OECs. To start shedding light into these controversial issues, this paper provides a systematic review regarding OECs' beneficial roles in neural regeneration, and the unique properties of these cells that may exert a potential advantage over other cellular transplants.
Topics: Animals; Cell Adhesion Molecules; Cell Movement; Humans; Nerve Growth Factors; Nerve Regeneration; Olfactory Bulb; Phagocytosis
PubMed: 24615159
DOI: 10.1007/s12035-014-8664-2 -
Acta Oto-laryngologica Jun 2012The sense of smell provides people with valuable input from the chemical environment around them. The human sense of smell generally fails in three ways; one is an... (Review)
Review
The sense of smell provides people with valuable input from the chemical environment around them. The human sense of smell generally fails in three ways; one is an intensity reduction and the other two are the quality of changes. Smell disorders can be classified into central or peripheral depending on their origin. Central causes can be related to an area of hyper-functioning brain cells generating this odor perception, thus olfactory distortions have also been observed with epilepsy and migraine. In this paper, we present a review of the current clinical understanding of olfactory distortions and discuss how they can be evaluated and therapies to treat this debilitating condition.
Topics: Diagnosis, Differential; Diagnostic Imaging; Humans; Olfaction Disorders; Olfactory Nerve Diseases; Smell
PubMed: 22582778
DOI: 10.3109/00016489.2012.659759 -
Skull Base : Official Journal of North... Jan 2011We systematically reviewed the literature concerning the anterior cranial fossa schwannomas to understand their pathogenesis, determine their origin, and standardize the...
We systematically reviewed the literature concerning the anterior cranial fossa schwannomas to understand their pathogenesis, determine their origin, and standardize the terminology. We performed a MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Science Citation Index Expanded search of the literature; age, gender, clinical presentation, presence or absence of hyposmia, radiological features, and apparent origin were analyzed and tabulated. Cases in a context of neurofibromatosis and nasal schwannomas with intracranial extension were not included. Age varied between 14 and 63 years (mean = 30.9). There were 22 male and 11 female patients. The clinical presentation included seizures (n = 15), headache (n = 16), visual deficits (n = 7), cognitive disturbances (n = 3), and rhinorrhea (n = 1). Hyposmia was present in 14 cases, absent in 13 cases (39.3%), and unreported in five. Homogeneous and heterogeneous contrast enhancement was observed in 14 and 15 cases, respectively. The region of the olfactory groove was the probable site in 96.5%. Olfactory tract could be identified in 39.3%. The most probable origin is the meningeal branches of trigeminal nerve or anterior ethmoidal nerves. Thus, olfactory groove schwannoma would better describe its origin and pathogenesis and should be the term preferentially used to name it.
PubMed: 22451797
DOI: 10.1055/s-0030-1262945