Omental Transplantation For Infantile Cerebral Palsy

Background: Infantile cerebral palsy (ICP) is currently one of the major diseases that cause paralysis and mental retardation in children. The stem cell treatment is a promising alternative for this disease. Material and method: Twenty-eight patients with ICP and epilepsy (12 cases) since 4.5 to 24 years received omental transplantation on the carotid bifurcation, anterior perforated space (APS), optic chiasm, and the temporal lobes. During surgery we found : 1) small and thin omentum in 13 cases, 2) adhesive arachnoiditis in the chiasmatic cistern and surrounding areas in 18 cases, 3) ischemic microinfarcts and atrophy in the surgical area; 4) vascular anomalies in the anterior perforating arteries; 5) several collapsed and exsanguinated perforating arteries, and 6) arachnoid cyst in 3 cases. Of all patients, thirteen cases received only, omentum on the APS, because the omentum was small. Results: Neurological improvement occurred since the first days after surgery in 21 patients. The epileptic seizures were reduced or aborted. Currently, 10 to 26 months after the operation, the patients have improved in different degrees. Likewise, the clinical data in 10 patients with minimal brain dysfunction were reversed. Conclusions: These results indicate that omental transplantation against ICP is effective. Because the omentum provoke revascularization and provide mesenchymal stem cells to the injured area, Moreover, the omentum favors the proliferation and migration of neural stem cells from the subventricular zone of the adult human brain.