Nerve repair using acidic fibroblast growth factor in human cervical spinal cord injury: a preliminary Phase I clinical study.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to assess functional outcomes of nerve repair using acidic fibroblast growth factor (FGF) in patients with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI).


METHODS
Nine patients who had cervical SCI for longer than 5 months were included in pre- and postoperative assessments of their neurological function. The assessments included evaluating activities of daily living, associated functional ability, and degree of spasticity, motor power, sensation, and pain perception. After the first set of assessments, the authors repaired the injured segment of the spinal cord using a total laminectomy followed by the application of fibrin glue containing acidic FGF. Clinical evaluations were conducted 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 months after the surgery. Preoperative versus postoperative differences in injury severity and grading of key muscle power and sensory points were calculated using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.


RESULTS
The preoperative degree of injury severity, as measured using the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) scoring system, showed that preoperative motor (52.4 +/- 25.9 vs 68.6 +/- 21.5), pinprick (61.0 +/- 34.9 vs 71.6 +/- 31.0), and light touch scores (57.3 +/- 33.9 vs 71.9 +/- 30.2) were significantly lower than the respective postoperative scores measured 6 months after surgery (p = 0.005, 0.012, and 0.008, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Based on the significant difference in ASIA motor and sensory scale scores between the preoperative status and the 6-month postoperative follow-up, this novel nerve repair strategy of using acidic FGF may have a role in the repair of human cervical SCI. Modest nerve regeneration occurred in all 9 patients after this procedure without any observed adverse effects. This repair strategy thus deserves further investigation, clinical consideration, and refinement.
Wu
Jau-Ching
JC
Department of Neurosurgery , Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan.
Huang
Wen-Cheng
WC
Tsai
Yun-An
YA
Chen
Yu-Chun
YC
Cheng
Henrich
H
D000328:Adult; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D016220:Fibroblast Growth Factor 1 / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D007796:Laminectomy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009128:Muscle Spasticity / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011300:Preoperative Care; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery*
D016220:Fibroblast Growth Factor 1