Severed spinal cord repaired
Discussion
I can remember hearing about the first heart transplant, the first "test tube baby" -- now this.
Just amazing...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29645760
A paralysed man has been able to walk again after a pioneering therapy that involved transplanting cells from his nasal cavity into his spinal cord.
Darek Fidyka, who was paralysed from the chest down in a knife attack in 2010, can now walk using a frame.
The treatment, a world first, was carried out by surgeons in Poland in collaboration with scientists in London.
The treatment used olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) - specialist cells that form part of the sense of smell.
OECs act as pathway cells that enable nerve fibres in the olfactory system to be continually renewed.
In the first of two operations, surgeons removed one of the patient's olfactory bulbs and grew the cells in culture.
Two weeks later they transplanted the OECs into the spinal cord, which had been cut through in the knife attack apart from a thin strip of scar tissue on the right. They had just a drop of material to work with - about 500,000 cells.
About 100 micro-injections of OECs were made above and below the injury.
Four thin strips of nerve tissue were taken from the patient's ankle and placed across an 8mm (0.3in) gap on the left side of the cord.
The scientists believe the OECs provided a pathway to enable fibres above and below the injury to reconnect, using the nerve grafts to bridge the gap in the cord.
Just amazing...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29645760
A paralysed man has been able to walk again after a pioneering therapy that involved transplanting cells from his nasal cavity into his spinal cord.
Darek Fidyka, who was paralysed from the chest down in a knife attack in 2010, can now walk using a frame.
The treatment, a world first, was carried out by surgeons in Poland in collaboration with scientists in London.
The treatment used olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) - specialist cells that form part of the sense of smell.
OECs act as pathway cells that enable nerve fibres in the olfactory system to be continually renewed.
In the first of two operations, surgeons removed one of the patient's olfactory bulbs and grew the cells in culture.
Two weeks later they transplanted the OECs into the spinal cord, which had been cut through in the knife attack apart from a thin strip of scar tissue on the right. They had just a drop of material to work with - about 500,000 cells.
About 100 micro-injections of OECs were made above and below the injury.
Four thin strips of nerve tissue were taken from the patient's ankle and placed across an 8mm (0.3in) gap on the left side of the cord.
The scientists believe the OECs provided a pathway to enable fibres above and below the injury to reconnect, using the nerve grafts to bridge the gap in the cord.
Excellent news but as with many developmental medical treatments, there are no guarantees of success and it could also go wrong and end up making someone more paralysed (See the article below).
As I understand it, getting new nerve cells to grow across an injury site is one thing however to make sure they attach properly at the other end (to limbs, the bladder etc) is something altogether more complex.
Nonetheless, this team seems to have made some great progress.
As I understand it, getting new nerve cells to grow across an injury site is one thing however to make sure they attach properly at the other end (to limbs, the bladder etc) is something altogether more complex.
Nonetheless, this team seems to have made some great progress.
newscientist.com said:
Stem cell treatment causes nasal growth in woman's back
A woman in the US has developed a tumour-like growth eight years after a stem cell treatment to cure her paralysis failed. There have been a handful of cases of stem cell treatments causing growths but this appears to be the first in which the treatment was given at a Western hospital as part of an approved clinical trial.
At a hospital in Portugal, the unnamed woman, a US citizen, had tissue containing olfactory stem cells taken from her nose and implanted in her spine. The hope was that these cells would develop into neural cells and help repair the nerve damage to the woman's spine. The treatment did not work – far from it. Last year the woman, then 28, underwent surgery because of worsening pain at the implant site.
The surgeons removed a 3-centimetre-long growth, which was found to be mainly nasal tissue, as well as bits of bone and tiny nerve branches that had not connected with the spinal nerves.
The growth wasn't cancerous, but it was secreting a "thick copious mucus-like material", which is probably why it was pressing painfully on her spine, says Brian Dlouhy at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, the neurosurgeon who removed the growth. The results of the surgery have now been published.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25859-stem-cell-treatment-causes-nasal-growth-in-womans-back.html#.VEZJ_xYfCm3A woman in the US has developed a tumour-like growth eight years after a stem cell treatment to cure her paralysis failed. There have been a handful of cases of stem cell treatments causing growths but this appears to be the first in which the treatment was given at a Western hospital as part of an approved clinical trial.
At a hospital in Portugal, the unnamed woman, a US citizen, had tissue containing olfactory stem cells taken from her nose and implanted in her spine. The hope was that these cells would develop into neural cells and help repair the nerve damage to the woman's spine. The treatment did not work – far from it. Last year the woman, then 28, underwent surgery because of worsening pain at the implant site.
The surgeons removed a 3-centimetre-long growth, which was found to be mainly nasal tissue, as well as bits of bone and tiny nerve branches that had not connected with the spinal nerves.
The growth wasn't cancerous, but it was secreting a "thick copious mucus-like material", which is probably why it was pressing painfully on her spine, says Brian Dlouhy at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, the neurosurgeon who removed the growth. The results of the surgery have now been published.
Edited by BlackLabel on Tuesday 21st October 13:08
Yes yes this is all very good news but what is Kim Kartrashian wearing to day?
A man can restore (albeit slowly) another human beings mobility ,but nothing about how big his house is or what its worth? ,very poor reporting.
I too heard him on the radio I don't think I have heard a meeker humble man who has the potential to change a devastated life.
Hat off to you Sir.
A man can restore (albeit slowly) another human beings mobility ,but nothing about how big his house is or what its worth? ,very poor reporting.
I too heard him on the radio I don't think I have heard a meeker humble man who has the potential to change a devastated life.
Hat off to you Sir.
Fantastic discovery, one of the Brits involved was on Radio 2 lunch time, very careful to explain it's not going to fix everyone - the first successful guy was chosen because his injury was caused by a stab wound and not some other trauma meaning it was a very clean gap, it was relatively close with uniform edges.
I can't help but hope they might be able to help Martin Ashton though.
I can't help but hope they might be able to help Martin Ashton though.
The results don't look like much of a cure to me, so far. And it's only one patient, there might have been the same result from doing nothing, or just opening him up and doing nothing.
I personally think the future of spine repair is more likely to be in some sort of artificial electronic bridge.
I personally think the future of spine repair is more likely to be in some sort of artificial electronic bridge.
Mr GrimNasty said:
The results don't look like much of a cure to me, so far.
He's gone from no movement and no feeling to being able to stand, walk (with a frame), control his bladder, and drive a car. Also have sex. By any medical measure he is no longer a total paraplegic. Bear in mind that a lot of his lower body will have atrophied over the years, so he will improve somewhat as he continues to rehabilitate. Consider how long it takes for the victim of a stroke to reach their optimal level of fitness and you'll get the idea.It was really interesting listening to the Doctor who had spent his whole professional career looking at these "nose nerves". He was almost a little scared by the potential of this research; as has been alluded to above, if you can fix the spine, there's no insurmountable barrier in the way of fixing anything else wired to the nervous system.
I think autologous cell therapy could be a massive game changer, it's likely to take a while but many common diseases could be treated in due course. Getting at good cells is the tricky bit if you're no longer a child (cord blood & dental cells) so it might not be practical for us, but certainly viable for the next generation.
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