Gene and cell therapy and nanomedicine for the treatment of multiple sclerosis: bibliometric analysis and systematic review of clinical outcomes

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Continuous improvement in cellular and molecular biology has led to the development of diverse advanced therapies. These include cell therapy and gene therapy, among others. Nanomedicine can also be used for therapeutic purposes.

Areas covered

The author carried out a bibliometric analysis to find out about the biomedical literature in these therapies applied to multiple sclerosis (MS) and its chronological evolution, from a quantitative and qualitative point of view. After this, articles which were identified as clinical trials were retrieved full-text and examined for further evaluation of their evidence-based level according to the CASP scale. In the bibliometric analysis the authors retrieved 2,791 studies, from which 2,405 were about cell therapy, 194 about gene therapy and 192 about nanomedicine; scientific production in these areas has been progressive and growing in terms of quantity and quality. In the systematic review 39 trials were retrieved, all of them about cell therapy, which had relevant sample sizes. The average of scientific-quality was good or very good (about 9/11 points).

Expert opinion

There is a class I evidence supporting the effectiveness of cell therapy as safe therapeutic option in multiple sclerosis with health benefits in the medium and long term.

KEYWORDS:

• Multiple sclerosis
• cell therapy
• gene therapy
• nanomedicine
• bibliometric analysis
• systematic review

Article highlights

• Scientific production related to advanced therapies shows an exponential increase, mainly motivated by the great health, economic and social impact of neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

• For all the studies reviewed, the efficacy profiles in MS resulted from cell therapy were confirmed by clinical studies.

• The most studied form of multiple sclerosis is Relapsing-Remitting MS (RR-MS) followed by, Secondary-Progressive MS (SP-MS).

• Autologous Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (aHSCT) is the most frequently studied MS intervention, followed by autologous mesenchymal stem cell transplantation (aMSCT) and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (aPBSCT).

• There is a class I evidence supporting the effectiveness of cell therapy with aHSCT and MSC as safe therapeutic options with health benefits in the medium and long term.

• High level of recommendation (level A) for the use of aHSCT and MSC forms of cell therapy in MS.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.