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Chinese stem cell treatment that ‘helped woman in wheelchair walk again’ could offer hope to other spinal cord patients, says study
Stephen Chen in Beijing
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Published: 4:05pm, 29 Aug, 2021
The study used stem cells to stimulate neuron growth. Photo: Shutterstock
A cutting-edge stem cell treatment helped to regrow the nerves of patients with spinal cord injuries – in some cases helping patients whom doctors expected to spend the rest of their lives in a wheelchair to walk again, according to new research.
Professor Dai Jianwu, the lead scientist in the study carried out at the Chinese Academy of Science’s state laboratory of molecular developmental biology in Beijing, said the treatment would not fully restore mobility, but it could give patients a “good quality of life”.
The experimental treatment was given to 66 patients between 2015 and 2020, all of whom had had their neuron fibres severed in accidents such as car crashes and falls. This causes paralysis and a total loss of feeling below the chest or neck and there is no effective treatment at present.
- Some paralysed patients were able to walk again while others were able to move their limbs and regained some sensation in their limbs
- Researchers say the transplanted cells will not fully restore mobility, but can give people a better quality of life
Stephen Chen in Beijing
+ FOLLOW
Published: 4:05pm, 29 Aug, 2021
The study used stem cells to stimulate neuron growth. Photo: Shutterstock
A cutting-edge stem cell treatment helped to regrow the nerves of patients with spinal cord injuries – in some cases helping patients whom doctors expected to spend the rest of their lives in a wheelchair to walk again, according to new research.
Professor Dai Jianwu, the lead scientist in the study carried out at the Chinese Academy of Science’s state laboratory of molecular developmental biology in Beijing, said the treatment would not fully restore mobility, but it could give patients a “good quality of life”.
The experimental treatment was given to 66 patients between 2015 and 2020, all of whom had had their neuron fibres severed in accidents such as car crashes and falls. This causes paralysis and a total loss of feeling below the chest or neck and there is no effective treatment at present.
Cutting-edge Chinese stem cell treatment ‘could help spinal cord patients’
Some paralysed patients were able to walk again while others were able to move their limbs and regained some sensation in their limbs.
www.scmp.com