Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33795700›Full record

ArticleNPJ Regenerative medicine2021

Looking backward to move forward: a meta-analysis of stem cell therapy in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Cynthia Morata-Tarifa, Garikoitz Azkona, Jonathan Glass, Letizia Mazzini, Rosario Sanchez-Pernaute

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in NPJ Regenerative medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  8. Article
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  12. Article
  13. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Lancet (London, England) · 2022
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Cynthia Morata-TarifaAndalusian Network for the Design and Translation of Advanced Therapies, Andalusian Health Ministry, Sevilla, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7828-5291
Garikoitz AzkonaDepartment of Basic Psychological Processes and Their Development-School of Psychology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), San Sebastian, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5312-1207
Jonathan GlassEmory ALS Center, Neurology and Pathology Department, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Letizia MazziniALS Centre, Department of Neurology, University Hospital "Maggiore della Carità", Novara, Italy.
Rosario Sanchez-PernauteAndalusian Network for the Design and Translation of Advanced Therapies, Andalusian Health Ministry, Sevilla, Spain. Rosario.sanchez.pernaute@juntadeandalucia.es.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1144-9025

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Transplantation of several types of stem cells (SC) for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been evaluated in numerous Phase I/II clinical trials with inconclusive results. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to systematically assess the outcome of SC therapy trials which report the evolution of each patient before and after cell administration. In this way, we aimed to determine the effect of the SC intervention despite individual heterogeneity in disease progression. We identified 670 references by electronic search and 90 full-text studies were evaluated according to the eligibility criteria. Eleven studies were included comprising 220 cell-treated patients who received mesenchymal (M) SC (n = 152), neural (N) SC (n = 57), or mononuclear cells (MNC: CD34, CD117, and CD133 positive cells) (n = 11). Our analyses indicate that whereas intrathecal injection of mesenchymal stromal cells appears to have a transient positive effect on clinical progression, as measured by the ALS functional rating score, there was a worsening of respiratory function measured by forced vital capacity after all interventions. Based on current evidence, we conclude that optimal cell product and route of administration need to be determined in properly controlled preclinical models before further advancing into ALS patients. In addition, in-depth understanding of disease mechanisms in subsets of patients will help tailoring SC therapy to specific targets and increase the likelihood of improving outcomes.

Identifiers

PMID33795700
PMCPMC8016966

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.