Positron Emission Tomography—Computer Tomography Scan Used as a Monitoring Tool Following Cellular Therapy in Cerebral Palsy and Mental Retardation—A Case Report

Abstract

Cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the non-progressive neurological diseases caused by damage to the brain tissue at birth, which leads to physical, cognitive and perceptive symptoms. Even after lifelong medical and therapeutic management there are residual deficits which affect the quality of life of the patients and their families. We examined a maximally rehabilitated, 20 year old male suffering from CP and Mental Retardation (MR). He had diplegic gait and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) score of 44 with affected fine motor activities, balance, speech and higher functions. Positron Emission Tomography—Computer Tomography (PET-CT) scan identified frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital, left cerebellar lobes, amygdala, hippocampus, and parahippocampus as the affected areas. He was treated with cellular therapy of Autologous Bone Marrow Derived Mono-Nuclear Cells (MNCs) transplantation followed by multidisciplinary rehabilitation. Six months following therapy, PET-CT scan showed significant increase in metabolic activity in all four lobes, mesial temporal structures and left cerebellar hemisphere, also supported by clinical improvement in IQ, social behavior, speech, balance and daily functioning. These findings provide preliminary evidence to support the efficacy of cellular therapy for the treatment of CP with MR. PET-CT scan can also be viewed as an impressive tool to monitor the effects of cellular therapy.

A Clinical Study of Autologous Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells for Cerebral Palsy Patients: A New Frontier

“…Currently, cellular therapy has gained attention due to its neurorestoration abilities. Variety of cells comprising of embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, umbilical cord blood cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells have been explored as a therapeutic option for neurological disorders including stroke, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, spinal cord injury, autism, and cerebral palsy [4–7]. Numerous preclinical studies have reported that these cells ameliorate the functional deficits in animal models of cerebral palsy [8, 9].…”

An Improved Case of Autism as Revealed by PET CT Scan in Patient Transplanted with Autologous Bone Marrow Derived Mononuclear Cells

“…We have previously published data wherein autologous mononuclear cell transplantation was carried out in children with various incurable neurological disorders including autism, cerebral palsy and mental retardation. Improvements were reported in quality of life of these patients [12][13][14]. On repeating and comparing the PET scan of brain after six months post therapy, significant changes were recorded and correlated to symptomatic improvements.…”

Stem Cell Therapy in Pediatric Neurological Disabilities

“…We have also published three case reports demonstrating the safety and efficacy of BMMNC transplantation in cerebral palsy [36,37,39]. In these case reports, the functional improvements are supported by improved brain metabolism recorded in comparative PET-CT scans performed before and after the intervention.…”

“…However, in 2015, we published a report of a 13-year-old boy with intellectual disability who exhibited improvements after stem cell therapy [70]. He was followed up after 3 and 6 months of intervention.…”