title: [Treatment of newborns with severe injured brain with transplantation of human neural precursor cells].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the therapeutic effect of human neural precursor cells transplantation in treatment of neonates with severe brain injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  The transplantation was performed on 6 newborns, one of them was diagnosed as extremely severe carbon monoxide poisoning at 5(th) day after birth; one of them was diagnosed as severe hypoglycemia; the others had asphyxia at birth with Apgar scores from 1 to 3 and were diagnosed as severe neonatal asphyxia, severe hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy according to images, electroencephalogram, biochemical examination and clinical manifestation. With the approval of hospital ethics committee and informed consent of the family members, the newborns received human neural precursor cells transplantation at the 4(th) to 20(th) day after birth. With the agreement of a pregnant woman, forebrain cells were obtained from the forebrain of her 12-week old fetus after spontaneous abortion. The cells from the fetal brain were amplified into human neural precursor cells in vitro and were injected into the cerebral ventricle of the patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On the 2(nd) day after transplantation, sucking and swallowing reflexes gradually appeared in all the patients, muscular tension was also improved, and convulsion stopped. NBNA scoring in 3 of the patients reached normal level on the 28(th) day after birth. The 6 patients were followed up for 12 months. Four patients were normal in psychomotor development and scores of each scale reached normal level. Two patients have cerebral palsy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  hNPCs transplantation is safe and effective in treatment of severe neonatal brain injury. More clinical trials and further observation are needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Navy General Hospital, Beijing 100048, China.
authors.forename: Zuo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Luan
authors.forename: Wei-peng
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Su-qing
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Su-qing
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Xiao-hong
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Zhao-yan
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Cui-qing
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xiao
mesh_terms: D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020925:Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain / Q000601:surgery; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000637:transplantation*