Hello Aya,

There is one older study that showed that the average diameter of the most distal initial segment of axon was markedly larger (swollen) in ALS compared to controls, suggesting that these might be an early pathological changes representlong functionally or morphologically vulnerable sites.

Here is a study:

Sasaki S, Maruyama S.Increase in diameter of the axonal initial segment is an early change in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Neurol Sci. 1992.110(1-2):114-20

MSCs primarily work through growth factors, 

and they expect to have anti-inflammatory effects, i.e., reduce swelling. At the same time, that what you have observed could indicate a reactivation in the impacted site, I.e., process of regeneration.  It expects that the effect would also differ based on properties of the MSC as well as the ALS stage.

Hope this helps

Tatyana

Hello Aya,

Just to point to a more recent study. Gorlez et. al. showed that the decrease in the volume of cervical spinal cord from the diagnosis of ALS to 3 months was predictive of respiratory compromise observed in these patients. Therefore, cervical spine diameter in MRI could be a useful parameter in your study.

You may find the study from this link:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-19938-2

Regards,

Parham