Treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with a bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cell extracellular vesicles - A case report

Abstract

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a terminal neurodegenerative disease with only a few minimally effective treatment options. This study treats a patient with Spinal ALS with Bone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Extracellular Vesicles (BM-MSCEVs) to slow or stop the progress of the disease. After 2 months and 4 treatments, the patient demonstrated improvement in ALS functional scores and most physical exam findings. BM-MSCEVs demonstrate the ability to effectively treat Spinal ALS in this study and open the door for future studies.

Mesenchymal stem cell secretome and extracellular vesicles for neurodegenerative diseases: Risk-benefit profile and next steps for the market access

“…These effects are likely linked to the protective effect exerted by MSC-secretome/EVs on limbal motoneurons, neuromuscular junction, and muscle and the protection from inflammation, as suggested by decreased glial cell activation [ 113 ]. Finally, improvement in sleep was also reported [ 114 ].…”

“…The application of MSC-secretome and EVs in ALS is recent, with only one study conducted on preclinical animal models [ 113 ] and two case reports after testing on humans [ 114 , 115 ] ( Table 5 ).…”

“… Decrease of glial cell activation. Crose [ 114 ] Human EVs from hBM-MSCs Intravenous injection Improvement of motor performance: walking with minimal assistance for 25–50 feet after six months of no walking. Improvement in speech and strength.…”

“…However, all the reports consistently indicate an improvement in motor performance without any significant adverse effect [ [113] , [114] , [115] ]. Specifically, Crose's study reported that the patient, following the treatment with EVs from human BM-MSCs, could walk with minimal assistance for 25–50 feet after six months of no walking [ 114 ]. Similarly, Ueda and colleagues reported an improved range of motion in limbs [ 115 ].…”

“…Similarly, Ueda and colleagues reported an improved range of motion in limbs [ 115 ]. Other improvements regarded speech and strength, the reduction of muscle spasms (and thus of the associated pain) [ 114 ], and reduced deterioration of pulmonary function [ 115 ]. These effects are likely linked to the protective effect exerted by MSC-secretome/EVs on limbal motoneurons, neuromuscular junction, and muscle and the protection from inflammation, as suggested by decreased glial cell activation [ 113 ].…”