Alok Sharma
NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute, India
Biography
Alok Sharma is the Director of NeuroGen Brain and
Spine Institute, Professor and Head of Department of
Neurosurgery, LTMG Hospital and LTM Medical College.
He has completed his MS and MCh from KEM Hospital
and Seth GS Medical College, Mumbai and subsequently
trained at the Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden and
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, USA. He has
published 112 scientific papers, authored 14 books, edited
2 books, contributed chapters in 8 books and made over
150 scientific presentations nationally and internationally.
He is Founding President of the Stem Cell Society
(India) and Vice President of International Association of
Neurorestoratology. He is Founder of The Indian Journal
of Stem Cell Therapy and on the Editorial Board of four
journals. He has been conferred with numerous awards and
honors during his career. His other areas of special interest
are Neuroendoscopy, Psychosurgery, Spinal fixations and
Revascularization for cerebral ischemia.
Abstract
Stem cell therapy has emerged as a promising treatment option for various
incurable neurological disorders. We have studied the safety and efficacy
of intrathecal transplantation of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells
in these disorders and will present our data. In neurodevelopmental disorders
such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), out of 32 cases of ASD, 92% cases
showed improvement in different aspects of Indian scale for assessment of
autism (ISAA) along with improved scores of clinical global impression (CGI)
and functional independence measure (FIM) indicating cognitive and functional
improvements; in cerebral palsy, out of 40 cases of CP, 95% patients showed
improved oromotor activities, neck control, sitting, standing, walking balance
and speech with improved metabolism recorded in the PET-CT scan of brain;
in intellectual disability (ID), outcome of 29 patients of the intervention group
was compared to that of 29 patients from only rehabilitation group and it was
found that all patients in the intervention group showed improvement while,
there was no improvement in 20.69% patients from only rehabilitation group.
In neuromuscular disorders such as muscular dystrophy (MD), out of 150 MD
patients, 86.67% showed improved strength in trunk, upper and lower limbs and
gait; in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), comparison of the survival analysis
was performed between the treated population (n=37) and the control group
(n=20). It was found that the survival duration of the treated population was
30.38 months more than that of the control group. In neurotraumatic disorders
such as spinal cord injury (SCI), 91% of 110 thoracolumbar SCI patients and 74%
of 56 cervical SCI patients showed improvement in spasticity, sensation, trunk
control, bladder management, standing and sitting balance, ambulation and
ADLs along with FIM, ASIA, and EMG/NCV; in traumatic brain injury (TBI), 93%
of 14 TBI patients displayed improved balance, voluntary control, muscle tone,
oromotor activities, cognition, coordination, speech, ambulation and ADLs after
intervention. In neurovascular disorders such as brain stroke, 24 patients those
who have brain stroke, better outcome was observed in patients with ischemic
stroke as compared to haemorrhagic stroke with improvement in ambulation,
hand function, standing and walking balance. We conclude that stem cell therapy
is a safe and an effective treatment option for the above clinical conditions