Spinal cord injuries cured with cell implants in breakthrough treatment by Israeli scientists
PATIENTS MAY one day be able to walk again thanks to an extraordinary breakthrough made by scientists in Israel.
In a world first, spinal cord implants from human cells were used on mice by researchers at Tel Aviv University.
Almost miraculously, out of 15 mice with long-term paralysis, 12 were able to walk again after the treatment.
And among mice which had recently been paralysed, all regained their ability to walk.
Professor Tal Dvir led the peerreviewed study, which was published this week.
He said: “This is the first instance in the world in which implanted engineered human tissues have generated recovery in an animal model for long-term chronic paralysis, which is the most relevant model for paralysis treatments in humans.”
His team created cells from human belly fat tissue. They then placed the cells into a special substance allowing the implant into the spinal cord.
Explaining he was pleased with the results, Prof Dvir said: “The model animals underwent a rapid rehabilitation process, at the end of which they could walk quite well.”
Any damage to the spinal cord – the long, tubular structure connecting the brain to nerves in the body – can cause partial or complete paralysis. Millions of people around the world are paralysed due to spinal injury, and there is little or no effective treatment for their condition. The Tel Aviv team is now gearing up for clinical trial on humans within the next few years. Prof Dvir said: “Individuals injured at a very young age are destined to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of their lives, bearing all the social, financial, and health-related costs of paralysis. “Our goal is to produce personalised spinal cord implants for every paralysed person, enabling regeneration of damaged tissue with no risk of rejection.” He added he expects to obtain relatively rapid official approval.