Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Treat Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (hUC–MSC–NMOSD): A Study Protocol for a Prospective, Multicenter, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial
Xiaoying Yao, Li Xie, Yu Cai, Ying Zhang, Ye Deng, Meichun Gao, Yishu Wang, Huiming Xu, Jie Ding, Yifan Wu, Nan Zhao, Ze Wang, Yaying Song, Liping Wang, Chong Xie, Zezhi Li, Wenbin Wan, Yan Lin, Hai-Feng Jin, Kan Wang, Huiying Qiu, Lei Zhuang, Yan Zhou, Yuyan Jin, Liping Ni, Jiali Yan, Quan Guo, Jiahui Xue, Biyun Qian, Yangtai Guan
Abstract
Background: Neuromyelitis Optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is severe relapsing and disabling autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Its optimal first-line treatment to reduce relapse rate and ameliorate neurological disability remains unclear. We will conduct a prospective, multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial to study the safety and effectiveness of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) in treating NMOSD. Methods: MSC/kg·weight for the low-, medium-, and high-dose group, respectively. The second and third stages will be carried out in six centers. The second stage aims to find the optimal dosage. Patients will be 1:1:1:1 randomized into the low-, medium-, high-dose group and the controlled group. The third stage aims to evaluate the effectiveness. Patients will be 1:1 randomized into the optimal dose and the controlled group. The primary endpoint is the first recurrent time and secondary endpoints are the recurrent times, EDSS scores, MRI lesion numbers, OSIS scores, Hauser walking index, and SF-36 scores. Endpoint events and side effects will be evaluated every 3 months for 2 years. Discussion: Although hUC-MSC has shown promising treatment effects of NMOSD in preclinical studies, there is still a lack of well-designed clinical trials to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of hUC-MSC among NMOSD patients. As far as we know, this trial will be the first one to systematically demonstrate the clinical safety and efficacy of hUC-MSC in treating NMOSD and might be able to determine the optimal dose of hUC-MSC for NMOSD patients. Trial registration: The study was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (CHICTR.org.cn) on 2 March 2016 (registration No. ChiCTR-INR-16008037), and the revised trial protocol (Protocol version 1.2.1) was released on 16 March 2020.