Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2021, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (25): 4095-4100.doi: 10.12307/2021.026

Previous Articles    

Systematic review of the efficacy and safety of umbilical cord-derived cell transplantation for patients with cerebral palsy

Zhong Liqing, Zhong Shanshan, Han Weichao, Hu Runkai, He Shufen, Ding Shaobo   

  1. Department of Pharmacy, Dongguan People’s Hospital, Dongguan 523000, Guangdong Province, China
  • Received:2020-08-04 Revised:2020-08-05 Accepted:2020-08-27 Online:2021-09-08 Published:2021-03-30
  • Contact: Ding Shaobo, Chief pharmacist, Department of Pharmacy, Dongguan People’s Hospital, Dongguan 523000, Guangdong Province, China
  • About author:Zhong Liqing, Pharmacist-in-charge, Department of Pharmacy, Dongguan People’s Hospital, Dongguan 523000, Guangdong Province, China

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: In recent years, umbilical cord-derived cells transplantation is considered to be one of the promising strategies for the treatment of cerebral palsy. However, clinical evidence is still limited and there is controversy regarding the clinical efficacy of stem cells in the treatment of cerebral palsy. This article systematically evaluated the efficacy and safety of umbilical cord-derived cells transplantation in the treatment of patients with cerebral palsy.
METHODS: Randomized controlled trials of umbilical cord-derived cell transplantation in patients with cerebral palsy were systematically searched, from the inception of the database to August 2020, including the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, CNKI, Wanfang Database, and China Clinical Trial Registration Center. We used Cochrane’s risk of bias assessment for the quality of the included studies. Two reviewers conducted independent quality evaluations for the included studies. After data extraction, RevMan 5.0 software was used for meta-analysis of outcome indicators. 
RESULTS: (1) There are six randomized controlled trials regarding umbilical cord-derived cells transplantation for the treatment of cerebral palsy. Literature quality was medium. (2) The results of meta-analysis showed that umbilical cord-derived cell therapy could significantly improve the gross motor function measurement score (SMD=0.83, 95%CI=0.36-1.30, P=0.000 6) and the gross motor performance measurement score (SMD=0.51, 95%CI=0.22-0.80, P=0.000 5). (3) In the subgroup analysis, the results showed that after umbilical cord-derived cell treatment, the gross motor function measurement scores of patients with cerebral palsy increased significantly at 6 months (SMD=0.91, 95%CI=0.07-1.74, P=0.03). (4) There was no statistical difference in adverse events such as upper respiratory tract infection, diarrhea and constipation between the two groups.
CONCLUSION: Umbilical cord-derived cell transplantation could significantly improve motor function in patients with cerebral palsy, and the safety was good. However, due to the small number of included literature, large-sample, multi-center, and high-quality clinical randomized controlled trials are still needed for further verification.

Key words: stem cells, umbilical cord-derived cells, cerebral palsy, safety, effective, meta-analysis, randomized controlled trials, systematic review

CLC Number: