ISSN: 2640-2637
Authors: Rajput B*, Meher K, Somalapur P, Kulkarni R, Bopardikar A and Kumar R
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a neuromuscular disorder caused due to mutations in dystrophin gene. It is characterized by progressive muscle degeneration; cellular therapies pose as a possible treatment option for this debilitating disorder. Earlier many cellular therapies with autologous and allogenic stem cells have provided evidences of their efficacy in the treatment of DMD. This study was carried out in different hospitals of India to prove the safety & efficacy of combination of autologous and allogenic stem cells in DMD patients. 30 patients were enrolled of which 18 were in the treatment group and 12 in the control group. Patients from each treatment group were given 4 sessions; 1 with autologous BM-MNCs and 3 with allogenic UC-MSCs. Assessments were done on the basis of Muscle strength, Functional Independence scale, Brooke and Vignos scales. Among the treatment group, 77.7% patients showed positive response. There was 63% and 50% rise in upper and lower limb’s power respectively after the completion of the protocol in the treatment group. When control group (n=12) was compared with treatment group (n=18), it was observed that the muscle strength in upper and lower limbs declined from the baseline by 41% and 47% respectively. Furthermore, Functional-Independence Measure score and Brooke-Vignos score also improved, suggestive of the efficacy of the treatment.So, the combination therapy has shown significant improvement in the muscle strength of the DMD patients compared to untreated group, without causing any deleterious effects. Therefore this combination therapy may be effective and safe option to be considered for therapeutic use in DMD patients.
Keywords: Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells; Cardiomyopathy; Stromal Cells
