Dr Samuel Stupp of Northwestern University, Chicago, have been developing nanofibre scaffolds nicknamed ‘noodle gels’. These have the ability to house and direct cells and could be used to tackle an array of regenerative medicine issues including spinal cord regeneration.…
Month: May 2012
Rosalind Nicholson – a legacy lives on …
In 1966, Rosalind Nicholson, aged only 17, began to study for a teaching career at Bathurst Teachers’ College. That same year she suffered a spinal cord injury which resulted in quadriplegia. Ros was staying with her friend, Barbara, on a farm on…
StemCells, Inc. reports positive interim safety data from spinal cord injury trial
StemCells, Inc. has announced completion of the first planned interim safety review of the company’s Phase I/II spinal cord injury clinical trial, which indicated that the surgery, immunosuppression and the cell transplants have been well-tolerated. The trial, which is designed…
Some patients show long term improvement after stem cell therapy
One of the first long-term studies of stem cell treatment for spinal cord injury shows significant functional and other improvements in three out of ten patients. The results support the safety of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from the patient’s…
New clinical trial for acute SCI
A clinical trial is underway by the US based, Japanese owned firm Asubio for their SUN13837 molecule. This trial is for acute (new) cervical injuries. They are hoping for an incredible 2-level improvement in quadriplegic patients. The difference this would…
FDA meeting brings promising spinal cord injury treatment closer to human trials
InVivo Therapeutics have had promising results using on bipolymer scaffolding to treat spinal cord injury in animal models (See published results). (March 2012: interview with InVivo CEO). Final FDA approval is still required. Read more