MR spectroscopy evaluation and short-term outcome of olfactory ensheathing cells transplantation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.

Objective: To evaluate proton MR spectroscopy (1H-MRS) for detection of the motor cortex and adjacent brain in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with apparent upper motor neuron involvement after olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) transplantation.

Methods: From December 2004 to February 2005, 7 patients with clinically definite ALS who could safely undergo MRS were admitted into the perspective study. The neurological status, ALS functional rating scale (ALSFRS), EMG, and 1H-MRS taken before and 2 weeks after operations were carefully analyzed. The NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr ratios were measured in the cerebral peduncle, genu and posterior limb of the internal capsule, corona radiata and precentral gyrus.

Results: The ALSFRS in 2 cases improved obviously whose ALSFRS increased from 30 to 33 and from 29 to 34 respectively. And 5 cases remained stable 2 weeks after OECs transplantation. Statistical analyses for all seven cases showed both the NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr ratios decreased, but in the two cases with ALSFRS improvement the NAA/Cr increased in the certain anatomic position which confirmed the neurological and EMG findings.

Conclusions: The proton MR spectroscopy is a suitable noninvasive measure for ALS evaluation. The preliminary study suggests that two of the seven ALS cases improved apparently short-term after OECs transplantation. More patients are required for the clinical study and longer follow-up duration is needed for future research.