Study the cervical spinal cord and brain over time to assess changes and differences in subjects with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Investigators will study cervical spinal cord chemical concentrations and cervical spinal cord and brain microstructure in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS) patients who have had a stem cell transplant compared to ALS patients who have not had a stem cell transplant. Investigators intend to determine cervical spinal cord chemical concentrations and cervical spinal cord and brain microstructure in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS) patients who have had a stem cell transplant and compare these to corresponding measures in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS) patients who have not had a stem cell transplant.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
6
Subjects will have an MRI that lasts approximately 60 minutes at the same time points as during the stem cell study schedule; once before the stem cell surgery, and again at 1, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 months after receiving stem cells. This magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)scan will be of the cervical spine and brain.
University of Michigan Hospital
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Changes in spinal cord metabolites in treated ALS subjects and nontreated ALS subjects.
1\. The longitudinal changes in spinal cord metabolites in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS) stem cell treated patients will be compared to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS) non-treated patients using magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Investigators hypothesize that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS) stem cell treated patients will demonstrate attenuated rates of decline in the levels of N-acetylaspartate(NAA), a measure of neuronal integrity, in the cervical spinal cord than amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS) non-treated patients.
Time frame: 5 years
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