Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes a high incidence of motor and sensory dysfunctions
accompanied with neuropathic pain. No effective treatment is available. Both somatosensory
evoked potential (SSEP) and neuropathic pain (NPP) are transmitted via myelinated large
diameter fibers of deep sensory pathways. Here we aimed to evaluate whether SSEP can
consistently and objectively assess transmission of deep sensory pathways, and to examine
the effects of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (UCMSC) transplantation on SSEP
and NPP as assessed by the pain rating index (PRI) in a patient with a 2-year history of
complete cervical SCI. We demonstrate that SSEP can directly reflect physiological function
of myelinated large fibers in deep sensory pathway transmission (NPP is also transmitted
by the same pathway). One year after UCMSC transplantation, the SSEP parameter, PRI,
and clinical presentations of NPP significantly improved.
Key words: Spinal cord, neuropathic pain, somatosensory evoked potential, umbilical
cord mesenchymal stem cells
Evaluation of Somatosensory Evoked Potential
and Pain Rating Index in a Patient with Spinal
Cord Injury Accepted Cell Therapy