QUEST FOR A MEDICAL MIRACLE

A GOLD COAST team is inching closer to a solution that has long eluded the medical world – a means to repair severed and damaged spinal cords.

Professor James St John, the head of Griffith University Spinal Injury Project, said the team is on track to develop a “nerve bridge” with a technique which involves transplanting cells from the nose into the spinal cord.

It is hoped to start clinical trials by 2020.

The groundbreaking research began last year as part of a collaborative project began the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery and the Menzies Health Institute Queensland.

“From the moment we began we have been contacted daily by people with spinal injuries telling us the challenges they face,” Professor St John said.

“... We need to remember what we are here for, that we are creating something for people and that is pretty exciting.”

Professor St John said the research team has seen success in animal trials and are looking forward to working on humans.

Picture: RICHARD GOSLING Professor James St John with colleagues from the Spinal Injury Project at Griffith University.