Breakthrough Stem Cell Treatment Improves Spinal Injury

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Japanese scientists have made progress in treating spinal cord injuries using a special kind of stem cell. In a first-of-its-kind study, doctors at Keio University in Tokyo found that two out of four patients improved their ability to move after receiving the treatment.

Spinal cord injuries are serious and can cause permanent paralysis, meaning people lose the ability to move certain parts of their body. Right now, there is no effective treatment for these injuries. In Japan alone, over 150,000 people live with this condition, and around 5,000 new cases happen every year.

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How the Treatment Works

The researchers used a type of stem cell called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). These cells are made by taking fully developed cells from the body and changing them back into an early, flexible state. In this form, they can be turned into different types of cells.

For this study, the team transformed iPS cells into neural stem cells, which help repair the spinal cord. Each patient received more than two million of these special cells through surgery.

Promising Results

After the treatment, two patients showed signs of improvement in their movement abilities. One of them, an elderly man who had suffered a spinal cord injury in an accident, was able to stand without help and even started practicing how to walk again.

The university confirmed that no serious side effects were found in any of the four patients after one year of monitoring. The main goal of this study was to check if the treatment was safe.

Professor Hideyuki Okano, who leads the research team, said he was pleased with the results. He explained that this is the first time in the world that iPS cells have been used for spinal cord injuries. The team hopes to start a larger clinical trial soon, an important step toward making this treatment available for more patients.

The Japanese government permitted Keio University to begin this study in 2019, and the first surgery was done in 2022. The researchers focused on patients who had suffered spinal cord injuries 14 to 28 days before the treatment.

The number of stem cells given to each patient was carefully decided based on safety tests done on animals before the human trial began.

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