By Hilary White, LISBON, July 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A team of researchers from Hospital de Egas, Lisbon, Portugal and Wayne State University Medical School in Michigan, USA, have shown that stem cells taken from the olfactory mucosa can be used successfully to treat spinal cord injuries, even years after the injury occurred.
A report published by the American Paraplegia Society says that seven patients, ranging in age from 18 to 32 years, who suffered severe spinal cord injuries as much as six and half years before, were treated with stem-like progenitor and ensheathing cells derived from the olfactory mucosa.
July 13, 2006 (Newswise.com) - More than 250,000 people in the U.S. are suffering from long-term spinal cord injuries, with more than 11,000 new occurrences taking place each year. One study appearing in the July 12th issue of the Journal of Neuroscience appears to be on the right track towards providing evidence that a combination of treatments could lead to regeneration of nerve endings in spinal cord injured patients. The result would be a return of functional activity.
John Houle, Ph.D., is Professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. Dr. Houle, who is the senior communicating author in the co-authored study, has demonstrated in a lab animal how a nerve removed from the leg and transplanted across a spinal cord injury, in combination with enzyme digestion of scar material, leads to regeneration of injured nerve endings and recovery of arm movements.
July 18, 2006 (10news.com) - Scientists believe harnessing stem cells could be the Holy Grail in finding cures for hundreds of diseases.
In San Diego, scientists from four of the nation’s top research institutions have joined together to create the San Diego Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
Stem cells have the potential to develop into any type of cell in the body.
By Biowire, July 19, 2006 (genengnews.com) - Geron Corporation announced today the publication of preclinical studies that support the safety and utility of GRNOPC1, Geron's lead human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-based therapeutic product for the treatment of spinal cord injury.
In the studies published in Regenerative Medicine, Dr. Hans Keirstead and his colleagues at the University of California, Irvine, injected GRNOPC1 into the lesion site of rats that received either very mild or moderate spinal cord contusion injuries. GRNOPC1 survived in both the mild and moderate lesion sites, with a broader distribution of transplanted cells and robust remyelination in the more severe injuries, replicating previous studies.
July 18, 2006 (Slashdot.com) - Malthooslie writes to tell us ScienceDaily is reporting that scientists have managed to regrow nerve fibers after a spinal injury. Using an enzyme called sialidase, isolated from bacteria, researchers were able to stimulate nerve fiber growth in rats. From the article:
"While surgeons can sometimes reattach the yanked nerves to the spinal cord, this treatment is not as effective as physicians or patients would like. This is in part because nerves in the brain and spinal cord, unlike those in the rest of the body, fail to grow new nerve fibers. Nerves in the brain and spinal cord are surrounded by signals from other cells in the injured area that stop them from growing."