Regenerative Medicine: Spinal Cord Repair

A good example of a regenerative medicine application is the use of adult stem cells from the olfactory region of the brain to repair spinal cord damage and paralysis. Relatively recently a 38 year old individual who had a spinal cord injury and complete lower paralysis was used in a ground-breaking clinical trial. Stem cells were collected from the olfactory bulb of the brain of the patient, these were then cultured (grown) outside the body and then implanted into the damage area of the spinal cord. As these cells originate from the brain they are neurogenic in nature and therefore have the potential to form neurons and restore signalling along the spinal cord.

The patient underwent surgery where the injured spinal cord was exposed, debris and scare tissue was removed and the cultured stem cells where introduced to the area. Rigorous rehabilitation followed the surgery where movements and senses where compared to the pre-treatment state. No improvements where shown after 8 months, however after this period slight improvements where noted and the patient regained some movement in certain areas of the legs.

It is difficult to know exactly what effect the stem cells had on the patient as there is no way of tracking their behaviour once in the body (in vivo) and improvements may have occurred due to clearance of debris and scar tissue alone. Also the results were from a single individual and therefore no strong conclusions can be drawn for this treatment however it does show the potential of regenerative medicine which is still in its infancy.