Mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients

This study aims to evalute the safty of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BM-MSCs) transplantaion into the spinal cord of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. Follow-up brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed no structural changes (including tumor formation) relative to baseline throughout the follow-up period. There was no deterioration in patient psychosocial status and all patients coped well. No clear clinical benefits were detected in these patients; a larger trials will be necessary to further test the efficacy of the treatment.