Our results appear to demonstrate that the procedures of ex vivo expansion of autologous mesenchymal stem cells and of transplantation into the spinal cord of humans are safe and well tolerated by ALS patients.

Our results demonstrate that direct injection of autologous expanded MSCs into the spinal cord of ALS patients is safe, with no significant acute or late toxicity, and well tolerated. The clinical results seem to be encouraging.

Background and Purpose-While it has been widely reported that the vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is prevented/reversed by endothelin (ET) receptor antagonists selective for the ET A receptor and by nonselective ET receptor antagonists, ie, antagonists of both the ET A and ET B receptors, there are no reports on the possible attenuation of the spasm by selective ET B receptor antagonists. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether (1) ET B receptor antagonists prevent and reverse SAH-induced spasm and (2) attenuation of the spasm results from blockade of smooth muscle ET B (ET B2 ) receptor-mediated constriction and/or endothelial ET B (ET B1 ) receptormediated ET-1-induced ET-1 release. Methods-SAH-induced spasm of the rabbit basilar artery was induced with the use of a double hemorrhage model. In vivo effects of agents on the spasm were determined by angiography after their intracisternal infusion (10 L/h) by mini osmotic pump. In situ effects of agents on the spasm were determined by direct measurement of vessel diameter after their suffusion in a cranial window. Results-SAH constricted the basilar artery by 30%. Intracisternal infusion with 10 mol/L BQ788, an ET B1/B2 receptor antagonist, reduced the spasm to 10%. To investigate whether BQ788 prevented the spasm by blockade of ET B1 receptor-mediated ET-1-induced ET-1 release, as opposed to ET B2 receptor-mediated constriction, we tested whether ET B1 receptor blockade also prevented the spasm. Indeed, intracisternal infusion with 10 mol/L RES-701-1, a selective ET B1 receptor antagonist, reduced the spasm to 10%. Similarly, in situ superfusion with 1 mol/L BQ788 reversed the spasm by 40%, and 1 mol/L RES-701-1 reversed the spasm by 50%. However, both BQ788 and RES-701-1 enhanced by 40% to 50% the 3 nmol/L ET-1-induced constriction elicited in spastic vessels previously relaxed with 0.1 mmol/L phosphoramidon, an ET-converting enzyme inhibitor. Conclusions-These results demonstrate that ET

DWI has an important role in the differential diagnosis of cystic cerebral masses but not in tumour characterisation. PWI is helpful in differentiating high-from low-grade gliomas and lymphomas from high-grade gliomas.

This study yields the first evidence for the existence of a TRPV1-LI innervation in human scalp arteries and provides the first quantitative assessment of the TRPV1-LI, CGRP-LI and SP-LI innervation of those vessels. The increase of TRPV1-LI periarterial nociceptive fibres of scalp arteries may represent, at least in some participants, a structural condition favouring CM (and possibly migraine), for example, by causing a higher sensitivity to algogenic agents.