An early stage trial has shown improvement in motor functions and feeling from intravenous injection of bone marrow derived stem cells. This is a world-first: it is the first time a patient’s own bone marrow derived stem (MSCs) cells have…
Tag: stem cells
World-first study using adult-derived stem cells on spinal cord injury patients begins
The first clinical study using adult-derived stem cells with the aim of treating people with spinal cord injuries has begun in Japan, at Keio University. The research team, led by Prof. Masaya Makamura, an orthopedic specialist, and Prof. Hideyuki Okano,…
Scientists grow mini-brain in a dish that connects to spinal cord
Scientists have grown a miniature brain in a dish that linked up to a mouse’s spinal cord and surrounding muscles – an advance that promises to accelerate the study of injury or degeneration of axon tracts, such as spinal…
3D-printed nerve stem cells could help repair damaged spinal cord
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have designed a device that could reconnect the damaged spinal cord. A silicone guide, covered in 3D- printed neuronal stem cells, can be implanted into the injury site, where it grows new connections between…
Human stem cells may provide new scalable source of replacement cells for spinal cord injury
Researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have successfully created spinal cord neural stems (NSCs) from puripotent stem cells (hPSCs) that differentiate into a diverse population of cells capable of dispering throighout the spinal cord and…
Paralyzed mice with spinal cord injury made to walk again
Most people with spinal cord injury are paralyzed from the injury site down, even when the cord isn’t completely severed. Why don’t the spared portions of the spinal cord keep working? Researchers now provide insight into why these nerve pathways…
Natural compounds sourced from Australian plant could aid in the repair of injured spinal cord
Natural compounds sourced from Australian dessert plants could help stimulate cells and aid in the repair of spinal cord injuries. Researchers from Griffith University are studying how these compounds can be incorporated into the cell transplantation process to improve recovery after…
Mind rehabilitaton may help in recovery after spinal cord injury
A study from Heriot-Watt University has uncovered that the mind plays a pivotal role in rehabilitation after spinal cord injury. The Edinburgh researchers said a change in the way people view their surroundings after injury can make it harder to carry out…
Gene therapy restores hand function in rats
Researchers based in King’s College London have found that gene therapy can restore hand function after spinal cord injury in rats. After suffering a spinal cord injury, dense scar tissue usually forms. It is this tissue that prevents connections being…
Experimental drug restores some bladder function after spinal cord injury
Researchers from Ohio State University have tested a drug that is showing promising results to improve bladder function after a spinal cord injury. After a month-long treatment after spinal cord injury in mice, bladder volume decreased significantly to a level…