Stem cell cocktail can repair spinal cord injury
Research from Toronto Western Research Institute, Canada, used stem cells taken from mice brains and injected a finely tuned cocktail of growth hormones, anti-inflammatory drugs and the cells into rats with crushed spines.
Research from Toronto Western Research Institute, Canada, used stem cells taken from mice brains and injected a finely tuned cocktail of growth hormones, anti-inflammatory drugs and the cells into rats with crushed spines.
From the article:
The team, led by Michael Fehlings at the Toronto Western Research Institute, Canada, used stem cells taken from mice brains. They injected a finely tuned cocktail of growth hormones, anti-inflammatory drugs and the cells into rats with crushed spines.
Although rats not given the stem cell treatment naturally regained some of their hind limb function two weeks after the injury, they were extremely uncoordinated. The stem cell treatment improved limb function, although it did not completely restore it.
The study is important, says Phillip Popovich at Ohio State University in Columbus, US. He notes that the special cocktail of growth hormones and anti-inflammatory compounds used in the rats could play a crucial role in making stem cell therapies work. However, he cautions that this type of approach might be difficult to administer to humans.
“I would think the biggest drawback is the complexity of the approach. From a logistical standpoint, instrumenting catheters and preparing cells for transplantation will be an expensive venture,
Do you need a test patient. I have a crack in my c3 and c4 that is causing me to drop things with my hands? Need help?
Sincerely
Tanya Renton