Stem Cells Repair Spinal Damage

The predicted magic of stem cells is starting to show its hand. An article, in July, on NewScientist.com, reports that researchers have made progress with using stem cells to repair damage of the spinal cord in rats. The research indicates that the same procedure may have similar results in humans.

Researchers are exploring a number of approaches to repairing damaged spines, including drugs that overcome spinal cells’ reluctance to regrow, ways of bridging the gap between severed nerves and transplants of various tissues, including adult stem cells derived from bone marrow and nerve cells from the nose. Human trials of some treatments, such as using nose cells, have already begun.

Adult stem cells are a possible alternative to embryonic stem cells (ESCs), but they tend to be limited in versatility and reproducibility. Given a sample of each type of stem cell, far more ESCs and be grown than adult stem cells. Also, there is no evidence that the adult stem cells can emulate other cells than what they were extracted from.

But there is also a serious problem with ESCs. “Undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells have a very high probability of forming tumours,” says Hans Keirstead at the University of California, Irvine, whose team did the latest research.

To prevent this, his team turned ESCs into specialised cells before transplanting them. They transformed the ESCs into oligodendrocytes, the cells that form the insulating layer of myelin that is vital for conducting nerve impulses.

Keirstead’s team transplanted the oligodendrocytes into rats with “bruised” spines. After nine weeks, the rats fully regained the ability to walk, he says, whereas rats given no therapy remained paralysed. The team repeated the experiment on three separate occasions, with the same results.

Evidence from the experiment may show that the damaged spinal cells that are still alive may be repaired.

Team leader Douglas Kerr thinks the animals’ recovery was not due to the growth of new cells, but to the secretion of two growth factors (TGF-alpha and BDNF), which protected damaged neurons and helped them to re-establish connections with other neurons.

“The stem cells’ magic was really their ability to get into the area of injury and snuggle up to those neurons teetering on the brink of death,” says Kerr, whose results will appear in the Journal of Neuroscience.

This leads me to believe that if we can synthesize the growth factors we could possible repair spinal cords with a simple injection or pill. That would be an ideal solution for we won’t have to worry about where the stem cells are coming from.

Source: NewScientist.com