Late Intrathecal Cell Therapy Increases Brain Glucose Metabolism and Improves the Long-Term Established Sequelae of Cerebral Hemorrhage

Background: The possibility of an increase in brain glucose metabolism after intrathecal administrations of autologous mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) has been recently reported, suggesting a role in the treatment of neurological disorders. We describe here the utility of this type of cell therapy in chronic neurological sequelae due to cerebral hemorrhage. Methods: A 49-year-old female suffered from 2009 severe neurological sequelae after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage open to ventricle in the left frontoparietal region. Eight years later, she received 3 intrathecal administrations of 100 million autologous MSCs each three months, until a total dose of 300 million. Results: From the first administration of MSCs, the patient reported a clear and progressive improvement that is maintained one year after finishing the cell therapy. The neurological improvement was associated to a progressive increase in global brain glucose metabolism measured by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG-PET). Conclusions: Late intrathecal administration of cell therapy with autologous MSCs may be a useful strategy to achieve improvement of chronic neurological sequelae due to hemorrhagic stroke.