%0 Journal Article
%T Index of CD34+ Cells and Mononuclear Cells in the Bone Marrow of Spinal Cord Injury Patients of Different Age Groups: A Comparative Analysis
%A Vidyasagar Devaprasad Dedeepiya
%A Yegneswara Yellury Rao
%A Gosalakkal A. Jayakrishnan
%A Jutty K. B. C. Parthiban
%A Subramani Baskar
%A Sadananda Rao Manjunath
%A Rajappa Senthilkumar
%A Samuel J. K. Abraham
%J Bone Marrow Research
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/787414
%X Introduction. Recent evidence of safety and efficacy of Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells (BMMNC) in spinal cord injury makes the Bone Marrow (BM) CD34+ percentage and the BMMNC count gain significance. The indices of BM that change with body mass index and aging in general population have been reported but seldom in Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) victims, whose parameters of relevance differ from general population. Herein, we report the indices of BMMNC in SCI victims. Materials and Methods. BMMNCs of 332 SCI patients were isolated under GMP protocols. Cell count by Trypan blue method and CD34+ cells by flow cytometry were documented and analysed across ages and gender. Results. The average BMMNC per ml in the age groups 0每20, 21每40, 41每60, and 61每80 years were 4.71, 4.03, 3.67, and 3.02 million and the CD34+ were 1.05%, 1.04%, 0.94%, and 0.93% respectively. The decline in CD34+ was sharp between 20每40 and 40每60 age groups. Females of reproductive age group had lesser CD34+. Conclusion. The BMMNC and CD34+ percentages decline with aging in SCI victims. Their lower values in females during reproductive age should be analysed for relevance to hormonal influence. This study offers reference values of BMMNC and CD34+ of SCI victims for successful clinical application. 1. Introduction With a reported global prevalence ranging from 236 to 1009 per million [1], Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) continues to be a devastating problem with no definite solutions. Spinal Cord Injury may be due to both traumatic (e.g., road traffic accidents) or nontraumatic causes (e.g., infections, congenital causes, tumours, etc.). In traumatic spinal cord injury, primary injury caused by compression or traction causes direct injury to neural elements due to the displaced bone fragments, ligaments, and disc material which leads to damage of the axons, neural cell bodies, and blood vessels. The spinal cord swells occupying the entire diameter of the spinal canal and ischemia results. The ischemia by releasing toxins gives rise to a cascade of secondary events ultimately leading to damage of the neighbouring healthy neurons [2]. The current mainline approaches of treatment involve removal of the bone fragments or other components to decompress the swollen spinal cord with the primary approach being limiting the secondary damage, followed by rehabilitation to assist in spontaneous recovery [2]. However the recovery is only limited in most of the cases. Hence, newer therapeutic options are being explored which might aid in complete recovery of the injured spinal cord. In this context, in addition to
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmr/2012/787414/