Olfactory ensheathing cells: Part II--source of cells and application to patients

Abstract

Objective: To assess clinical methods of sourcing human olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), and the results of present day clinical studies in OEC transplantation.

Methods: Review of literature.

Results: Present clinical studies of OEC transplantation have demonstrated the feasibility and safety of the technique, and no significant complications have occurred from harvest of the olfactory mucosa to culture OECs. These reported studies have not been designed to determine whether clinical outcome is improved by transplantation.

Conclusions: OEC transplantation strategies need to be studied further. At present clinical models for testing OECs vary in methodology and quality, and until high-quality, well-designed, and sufficiently powered studies have been performed, the true effect of OEC treatment for patients will remain unclear.

Keywords: Clinical trial; Olfactory ensheathing cell; Spinal cord.