title: Intramedullary spinal cord implantation of human CD34+ umbilical cord-derived cells in ALS.
abstract: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder with marginal therapeutic options. Degeneration of motor neurons in the primary motor cortex, brainstem and spinal cord lead to rapidly progressive paralysis and finally to death due to respiratory failure. As pharmacological therapies have failed to provide sufficient neuroprotective effects in ALS, transplantation of stem or progenitor cells is considered a promising treatment strategy. Cell transplantation approaches in ALS mainly aim to generate a neuroprotective environment for degenerating motor neurons by transplantation of non-neuronal cells, rather than to replace lost motor neurons. We present a 63-year-old male patient suffering from ALS who underwent intramedullary thoracic spinal cord implantation of human CD34(+) umbilical cord-derived haematopoietic progenitor cells with a three-year follow up after transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neurology ,  Hannover ,  Germany.
authors.forename: Anna-Lena
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Cordes
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jahn
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hass
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schwabe
authors.forename: Eva M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Weissinger
authors.forename: Arnold
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ganser
authors.forename: Friedrich
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Götz
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dengler
authors.forename: Joachim K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Krauss
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Petri
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D036101:Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000941:ethics / Q000379:methods*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing / Q000941:ethics / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*
chemical_list: D018952:Antigens, CD34