Spinal cord injury is the most prevalent cause of permanent neurological disorders, which can result in full palsy in severe cases. Unfortunately, most spinal cord injury treatments are ineffectual. The current study aims to assess the effect of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells on spinal cord regeneration in dogs. Sixteen healthy mongrel dogs were employed for this purpose. They were randomly separated into two equal groups (n=8). Dorsal laminectomy and left lateral hemisection at the level of the second lumbar vertebra were performed on all dogs. The hemisections in the control group were treated with 0.2 mL of phosphate buffer saline. The stem cell group with the hemisection cavity was treated with adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells 50 µl (5x106), for bridging lesion sites after the operation. Each group was subsequently subdivided into two equal subgroups (n=4) based on the post-operative periods, which were the eighth and sixteenth weeks for clinical follow-up and histological tests. Clinical testing of motor and sensory spinal cord functions indicated statistically significant (p <0.05) differences between the stem cell and control groups. Histopathological examinations of the stem cell group revealed reduced cavitation, orientation of regenerative nerve fibers in white matter, increased number of regenerative neuron cells in grey matter, increased angiogenesis, and minimal scar tissue formation at the injured spinal cord site. In conclusion, the current study demonstrated that the adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells accelerated and improved regeneration of the damaged spinal cord based on clinical and histological findings.
Munahi et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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