Intrathecal Administration of Autologous CD34 Positive Cells in Patients with Past Cerebral Infarction: A Safety Study.

Regenerative strategies in treatment of stroke have great potential. The goal of the current study was to investigate safety of intrathecal administration of autologous CD34 positive cells in treatment of patients with poststroke. A total of eight male patients with a history of stroke were enrolled. The patients were treated subcutaneously with 5  μ g/kg body weight rhG-CSF for 5 consecutive days, and then leukapheresis was performed to concentrate cells for CD34 positive immunoselection. All patients underwent intrathecal administration of CD34 positive cells via lumbar puncture. The primary outcome was safety evaluation for 12-month followup. In addition, behavioral function was evaluated with NIH stroke scale and Barthel index 1, 6, and 12 months after the last treatment, respectively. There were no major adverse events, and abnormal changes of blood tests during the whole treatment process included intrathecal administration and 12-month followup. The main message from the current study was that administration of G-CSF-mobilized autologous CD34 positive cells in patients with poststroke was safe. Future studies with larger population and control group are needed to confirm the safety and investigate the efficacy.