Stem Cell Treatment for Spinal Cord Injuries
For Stem Cell Treatment:
Codi Culwell ■ United States ■ XCell-Center
Cartaze H. Ragland ■ United States ■ Tiantan Puhua Hospital
Yim ■ Malaysia ■ Intervention Hospital of Shandong Red Cross Society
Neural stem cells grown from umbilical cord cells, along with growth factors, can be introduced into the spinal canal to treat patients with spinal cord injuries. Transplanted neural stem cells have been shown to cause extensive growth of axons in the cerebral cortex and the spinal cord, and so can help the patient recovery motor function.
Patients with injuries to their spinal cords, fall into two groups: paraplegics and quadriplegics. Paraplegics have motion and sensory loss in their lower section of their bodies. Quadriplegics have severe motor and sensory loss in their arms and legs and may suffer from respiratory problems.
Many efforts have been made to recover neuronal function following spinal cord injuries. Blood from umbilical cords is a rich source of pluripotent cells, in other words, cells that can be programmed into many types of organ cells, including neural cells. The cells can differentiate into neurons, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes. These cord stem cells help the synthesis of myelin basic protein as well as the proteolipid that is found in myelin in injured areas.
Neural stem cells grown from cells taken from the umbilical cord, along with growth factors, can be introduced into the spinal canal. This is done next to the site of the spinal cord injury. Over the course of the treatment, one hundred million stem cells are given to the patient through direct implant. Transplanted neural stem cells have been shown to cause extensive growth of axons in the cerebral cortex and the spinal cord and so can help the patient’s motor recovery. This improvement in neurological function is likely related to regeneration of the nerve fiber.
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