Using patients’ own stem cells, scientists making gains on repair of the spinal cord in the newly-injured

Some good news was reported last week based on the latest report on a Yale University study involving the use of a spinal cord injured person’s own stem cells to help repair the damage to their spinal cord. The early work appears to show a positive impact on the recovery of the individual with SCI. On the flip side, the study was done only on 13 individuals who received the procedure about seven weeks after their injury and the results were not blinded and there were no placebo controls, hugely important areas to address in order to determine the efficacy of the procedure.

The 13 patients had sustained non-penetrating spinal cord injuries, in many cases from falls or minor trauma, several weeks prior to implantation of the stem cells. Their symptoms involved loss of motor function and coordination, sensory loss, as well as bowel and bladder dysfunction. The stem cells were prepared from the patients’ own bone marrow, via a culture protocol that took a few weeks in a specialized cell processing center. The cells were injected intravenously in this series, with each patient serving as their own control.

For more than half of the patients, substantial improvements in key functions — such as ability to walk, or to use their hands — were observed within weeks of stem cell injection, the researchers report. No substantial side effects were reported.

You can read the details of this study HERE.