Treatment of Syringomyelia Characterized by Focal Dilatation of the Central Canal Using Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Neural Stem Cells

Syringomyelia, a progressive chronic disease, leads to nerve pain and dyskinesia, often not improving after surgery. Stem cells are explored for nervous system diseases due to their immunoregulatory and neural replacement abilities. The study used a rat model of syringomyelia with focal dilatation to explore effective transplantation and evaluate mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) for treatment. Cell transplantation can promote cavity shrinkage and regulate inflammation. The proliferation of ependymal cells may indicate activation of endogenous stem cells, important for spinal cord regeneration and repair.

• 1
  Cell transplantation promotes syrinx shrinkage and stimulates ependymal cell proliferation, with effects related to transplantation location; reactions occur only when cells are transplanted into the cavity.
• 2
  Cell transplantation transformed activated microglia into the M2 phenotype, and IGF1-expressing M2 microglia may play a role in nerve pain repair.
• 3
  Both MSCs and iNSCs can cause cavity shrinkage, but the effect was not different.