Gross Motor Functioning in Children with Cerebral Palsy after Stem Cell Transplantation

Abstract

Background Cerebral palsy (CP) is a non-progressive motor disability that mostly results from perinatal complications. It demands extensive and multidisciplinary care, which poses a burden for patients and their families and a challenge to health systems. We aimed to evaluate the effect of stem cells transplantation on gross motor functioning of CP patients. Patients and Methods: It is a prospective study conducted on 20 children diagnosed with cerebral palsy with severe motor disability (GMFC 5) further classified into two groups according to age. The study was carried out from January 2018 to January 2020. Follow up of the patients was done before injection of stem cells and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after injection of stem cells using Gross motor function classification scale (GMFC). Results: The study revealed that GMFC scores in pre-injection and 3,6,9and 12 months evaluations were not statistically significant when compared among the two groups while significant improvement was found in gross motor scale from pre-injection to final injection score in each group. Median GMFC changed from 5 to 2 among all cases. Conclusion: Gross motor function in children with CP remarkably improved after stem cell transplantation.