New Delhi: In a remarkable breakthrough, a Japanese patient who had been paralyzed from the neck down for many years has learned to stand unaided once again. It was all done as part of a first-ever clinical trial which used reprogrammed stem cells to treat patients with spinal injuries, offering new hope to patients suffering from paralysis.
This groundbreaking research is a tipping point for regenerative medicine. This means only the beginning, but the results provide a vision of a time when stem cell therapies might return lost function following spinal injury and improve the health of paralysis victims. It is only with bigger trials that the long-term effect and promise of stem cell therapy in the treatment of paralysis can be unlocked.
Breakthrough treatment helps paralyzed patients regain function
The clinical trial, conducted by Hideyuki Okano, a stem-cell scientist at Tokyo’s Keio University, involved four patients who were all paralyzed due to spinal cord injuries. The patients underwent an innovative treatment of neural stem cells to restore damaged spinal tissue and restore movement.
Treatment process: Neural stem cells for spinal cord injury
Among the experiments, one of the patients received an injection of neural stem cells into his site of spinal cord injury. The stem cells, which can develop into various types of nerve cells, were to regenerate the spinal cord and regain lost functions. Miraculously, after treatment, the man was able to stand by himself—a gigantic leap towards recovery.
A third participant regained use of both arms and legs, with significant improvement following the procedure. Two of the participants, however, failed to experience dramatic improvement, leading some to wonder at the consistency and effectiveness of the treatment as a whole.
Stem cell trial shows potential, requires further research
The result of the trial was only released in March, though it was not yet peer-reviewed. Researchers confirmed that the treatment was safe for the patients according to journal Nature. However, experts caution that such improvements may be an indication of recovery naturally and not due to the stem cell treatment itself, and that more thorough clinical trials must be done before confidently giving credit to the progress to the treatment itself.
Stem cell treatment uses reprogrammed cells to repair spinal damage
Stem cells are a unique type of cell that can transform into different types of cells within the body, such as skin, muscle, or nerve cells. For the experiment, scientists reprogrammed regular body cells into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which can develop into numerous types of cells, including nerve cells. The iPS cells were grown into early-stage nerve cells and then implanted into the injured spinal areas of the patients to enable repair.
The stem cell injections, where two million cells were employed, were conducted between the years 2021 and 2023 in four men older than the age of adult, two of whom were more than 60 years old. Immune-suppressing medication was administered to the patients for six months to avert rejection of the transplanted cells. The treatment was designed to stimulate the growth of healthy nerve cells in the damaged spinal segment.
One year later, the patients did not experience any notable side effects, but only two were visibly improved. One regained partial movement of his limbs, while the other could stand unsupported for the first time in years, and is being taught to walk.
Survival rate of transplanted cells remains a key factor in stem cell therapy success
Though this clinical trial is a great source of hope for individuals suffering from spinal cord injuries, it is a small-scale trial. Its results are encouraging but not definitive. Larger trials need to be conducted, though, in order to find out just how good this treatment is and which patients will benefit most from it.
One of the most important factors still to be explored is the rate at which the cells that have been transplanted survive. Research shows that a majority of the injected cells are dead within hours of being placed in the body. Okano and his team, however, believe that imaging tests show some of the iPS cells did survive and continue to function to help the patients recover.
