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Autologous Human Schwann Cells in Peripheral Nerve Repair

The Safety and Efficacy of Autologous Human Schwann Cell (ahSC) Augmentation of Nerve Autografts After Severe Peripheral Nerve Injury (PNI)

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03999424
Enrollment
5
Registered
2019-06-26
Start date
2019-09-24
Completion date
2025-12-04
Last updated
2025-12-12

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Peripheral Nerve Injuries

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to assess the safety of autologous human Schwann cell (ahSC) augmentation of nerve autograft repair in participants with severe peripheral nerve injury (PNI). For humans with acute severe PNI, the hypothesis is that augmentation of nerve autograft repair with ahSCs can potentially enhance axonal regeneration and myelin repair and thus improve functional recovery.

Interventions

Schwann cells harvested from the sural nerve and debrided, injured sciatic nerve of the participant will be autologously transplanted along sural nerve autografts wrapped in a collagen matrix

Sponsors

The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis
CollaboratorOTHER
W. Dalton Dietrich
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Persons with severe sciatic nerve injury, brachial plexus injury, and/or major injury at the upper or lower extremity with nerve loss within previous year; * Peripheral nerve injury with large gap (5 - 10 cm) between healthy nerve endings; * Between the ages of 18 and 65 years at last birthday;

Exclusion criteria

* Persons unable to safely undergo an MRI (may include persons with an implanted device or metallic fragments which may interfere with MRI safety); * Persons with pre-existing conditions that would preclude satisfactory sural nerve harvest (may include amputation or major injury to lower limb, or disease affecting the sural nerve); * Persons with severe peripheral nerve injury gap length \> 10 cm in length; * Persons with history of radiation or local cancer in area of nerve injury, including primary tumors of the nerve; * Pregnant women or a positive pregnancy test in those women with reproductive potential prior to transplantation; * Presence of disease that might interfere with participant safety, compliance, or evaluation of the condition under study; * History of active substance abuse; * Persons allergic to gentamicin; * Persons who test positive for HIV or Hepatitis B or C virus;

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Number of participants with reported tumorigenesis or unexpected changes in nerve structure2 years post-transplantationTumorigenesis and/or unexpected changes in the nerve structure will be determined by evaluation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Number of participants with reported cell product culture test failure12 months post-transplantationUsing sterility testing, the number of participants with reported cell product culture test failure will be evaluated.
Change in muscle strength scale grade of affected limb musclesfrom baseline to 12 months post-transplantationThe Medical Research Council (MRC) scale for muscle strength grades muscle power on a scale of 0 to 5 in relation to the maximum expected for that muscle.
Sensory recovery scale grade of affected dermatomesfrom baseline to 12 months post-transplantationAssessment of pin-prick and two point discrimination in areas previously anesthetic in the distal distribution of the nerve injury.
Change in pain scoresfrom baseline to 12 months post-transplantationThe Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) questionnaire estimates the probability of neuropathic pain, based on 10 items. Seven items related to pain quality are based on an interview and 3 items are based on clinical examination.
Change in pain characteristics (location, intensity, and description)from baseline to 12 months post-transplantationAssessed by a pain diagram which identifies areas of pain with descriptors. An intensity scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (most intense pain imaginable) is used to rate the overall intensity of pain at the time of assessment.
Number of participants with reported adverse events (AEs)12 months post-transplantationThe number of participants with reported AEs will be evaluated to assess safety. Using CTCAE v4.0 grading scale, all AEs that are Grade 3 or higher with treating physician's attribution of probable or definite relation to intervention will be included.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Sensory recovery scale grade of affected dermatomesfrom baseline to 5 yearsAssessment of pin-prick and two point discrimination in areas previously anesthetic in the distal distribution of the nerve injury.
Change in pain scoresfrom baseline to 5 years post-transplantationThe Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) questionnaire estimates the probability of neuropathic pain, based on 10 items. Seven items related to pain quality are based on an interview and 3 items are based on clinical examination.
Change in pain characteristics (location, intensity, and description)from baseline to 5 months post-transplantationAssessed by a pain diagram which identifies areas of pain with descriptors. An intensity scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (most intense pain imaginable) is used to rate the overall intensity of pain at the time of assessment.
Nerve-graft continuity2 weeks post-transplantationUltrasound will be used to assess nerve-graft continuity.
Change in muscle strength scale grade of affected limb musclesfrom baseline to 5 yearsThe Medical Research Council (MRC) scale for muscle strength grades muscle power on a scale of 0 to 5 in relation to the maximum expected for that muscle.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026