Feb. 5 Virtual Open House with Dr. Wise Young to feature latest on umbilical cord blood stem cell clinical trials
Renowned neuroscientist, Dr. Wise Young of Rutgers University, will participate in a Fri., Feb. 5th virtual Open House, co-sponsored by the United Spinal Association, where he will provide an update on where things stand with the long-anticipated start to the clinical trials he’s spearheading that involve the use of umbilical cord blood stem cell therapy, a study that seeks to restore various functions in those with long-term complete spinal cord injuries. You may register for his 4-6 p.m. PST Zoom presentation HERE. Though he had received approval from the Food & Drugs Administration to start his first-ever clinical trials in the U.S. at the beginning of last year, COVID-19 put a temporary hold on those initiatives.
NorCal SCI has hosted Wise (as he likes to be called) in person and virtually over the past two years and we are quite fond of his work and results of the work he has put in for the past 30 years in search of that elusive cure for spinal cord injury. And even with these trials, the unfortunate timing of COVID-19 caused the investors behind the study to withdraw. So, the timing is good for him to provide an outlook for when these crucial and promising trials are likely to get off the ground.
These clinical trials are for 27 participants. In order to qualify for this trial, you must have a complete injury (ASIA A only) between C5 and T11, be injured more than 1 year, 18-64 yrs old. Neurosurgeons are reluctant to inject above C5 because of the phrenic nucleus which if damaged, it could result in diaphragm paralysis preventing the individual from being able to regulate breathing on his or her own. Dr. Young plans to have a separate trial for high quads after this one. There is no cost to participate in a clinical trial, but if selected, you would have to cover the cost of lodging and transportation in New Jersey for 6 months. Send e-mail to Jim Bennett who will add you to his list to be alerted when recruitment for the trials begins: jimbenn@rutgers.edu