Meta-Analysis of Stem Cell Therapy on Stroke in Pre-Clinical Studies

• Activity Number: 547
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 7, 2013 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Biopharmaceutical Section
• Author(s): Qing Wu*+ and Bart Demaerschalk and Kay Wellik and Wenchun Qu
• Companies: Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic
• Keywords: meta-analysis ; stem cell ; stroke ; animal model ; efficacy ; Lesion volume

Abstract

Studies on stem cell therapy on stroke in animal model have yielded inconsistent results. We conducted a meta-analysis of animal studies to assess the efficacy of stem cell therapy for stroke in animal models. Relevant studies published through March 2013 were identified through literature searches using MEDLINE and EMBASE, and manual searching of reference lists. Only animal studies that examined the efficacy of stem cell therapy on stroke were included. Study selection and Data abstraction were conducted independently by two investigators using a standardized protocol; disagreements were resolved by discussion. Cochran Q statistic and Higgins index were used to assess heterogeneity among included studies. To estimate the overall effect size, each study was weighted by the reciprocal of its variance. Random effects models were used for pooled analysis due to heterogeneity. Eight studies met inclusion criteria. Overall, stem cell therapy reduced lesion volume by 9.8% (95% CI: 4.6% - 14.9%, p < 0.001). The estimate was consistent in sensitivity analysis. This meta-analysis demonstrated that stem cell therapy treatment may be benefit to stroke repair.