Stem cells 'repair spinal cord'

2005-09-21 11:02

Washington - Human stem cells injected into partially paralysed mice apparently helped restore the animals' damaged spinal cords, according to new research published in the United States.

The human stem cells formed new neural cells including oligodendrocytes, helping to transmit electric signals to injured nerve cells, said a study released on Monday.

Describing their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers in California transplanted mice with human stem cells obtained from a stem cell bank.

Sixteen weeks after the treatment, the partially paralysed mice showed "long-term recovery" in their ability to walk, compared to mice that did not receive injections, researchers at the University of California at Irvine stated.

The treatment with stem cells could potentially be used to repair the damaged spinal cords of humans though much research remains to be done before clinical trials can be conducted, the researchers said.

The scientists wrote that "additional animal studies are necessary both to establish the mechanisms of recovery and to evaluate the potential of these cells for possible therapeutic use".

It also remains unclear how long after a spinal injury occurs that stem cells be injected and still produce a satisfactory result.

The study was funded by the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation and the National Institutes for Health.

The firm StemCells Inc of Palo Alto, California provided the stem cells, which were developed in a laboratory from human cells retrieved from aborted foetuses.

The same firm has filed an application asking the US government for permission to start injecting the stem cells into the brains of infants with Batten disease, a fatal syndrome that decimates the nervous system, The Washington Post reported on Monday.

- AFP