Stem Cell Res Ther
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Although blinding is a methodologic safeguard to ensure obtaining comparability of groups in a clinical trial, it is very difficult to maintain blinding from the beginning to the end of a study. The aim of the study was to see how proper blinding of both participants and treatment providers from the planning phase of the study to during the study affected the study outcomes. ⋯ Unblinding might be overestimating the treatment effect. These findings suggest that randomized controlled trials testing the efficacy of BMSC therapy should be appropriately designed and rigorously applied to avoid bias.
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Acute lung injury (ALI), and its more severe form, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), are syndromes of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure resulting from a variety of direct and indirect injuries to the gas exchange parenchyma of the lungs. Current treatment of ALI/ARDS is primarily supportive, with lung protective ventilation and fluid conserving strategies. ⋯ Recent studies involving the administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for the treatment of experimental ALI/ARDS have shown promising results. This review focuses on existing studies that have tested the use of MSCs in models of ALI/ARDS, and the potential mechanisms underlying their therapeutic effects.
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Administration of bone marrow-derived cells produces beneficial effects in experimental extrapulmonary acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, there are controversies regarding the effects of timing of cell administration and initial insult severity on inflammatory response. We evaluated the effects of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BMDMC) in two models of extrapulmonary ARDS once lung morphofunctional changes had already been installed. ⋯ BMDMC therapy at day 1 successfully reduced lung inflammation and remodeling, thus contributing to improvement of lung mechanics in both extrapulmonary ARDS models. Nevertheless, the different inflammatory responses induced by LPS and CLP resulted in distinct effects of BMDMC therapy. These data may be useful in the clinical setting, as they suggest that the type of initial insult plays a key role in the outcome of treatment.
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Intraspinal grafting of human neural stem cells represents a promising approach to promote recovery of function after spinal trauma. Such a treatment may serve to: I) provide trophic support to improve survival of host neurons; II) improve the structural integrity of the spinal parenchyma by reducing syringomyelia and scarring in trauma-injured regions; and III) provide neuronal populations to potentially form relays with host axons, segmental interneurons, and/or α-motoneurons. Here we characterized the effect of intraspinal grafting of clinical grade human fetal spinal cord-derived neural stem cells (HSSC) on the recovery of neurological function in a rat model of acute lumbar (L3) compression injury. ⋯ Peri-acute intraspinal grafting of HSSC can represent an effective therapy which ameliorates motor and sensory deficits after traumatic spinal cord injury.
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This study tested the hypothesis that cyclosporine (CsA)-supported syngeneic adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell (ADMSC) therapy offered superior attenuation of acute ischemia-reperfusion (IR) kidney injury to either therapy alone. ⋯ Combination therapy using CsA plus ADMSCs offers improved protection against acute IR kidney injury.