Long term outcomes of intracarotid arterial transfusion of circulatory-derived autologous CD34+ cells for acute ischemic stroke patients—A randomized, open-label, controlled phase II clinical trial

• Intracarotid arterial transfusion of autologous CD34+ cells is safe with 100% procedural success and no long-term tumorigenesis in acute ischemic stroke patients. • The treatment significantly enhances angiogenesis capacity of circulating endothelial progenitor cells and increases stromal cell-derived factor 1α levels in the internal jugular vein. • Cell-treated patients showed greater improvement in NIHSS scores by days 30 and 90, and significantly higher brain perfusion at 180 days compared to controls. • Although the combined long-term endpoint (death/recurrent stroke/severe disability) was lower in the control group (14.3% vs 50.0%), the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.103), suggesting potential benefit but requiring further validation.