First-of-its-kind trial enables paralysed man to stand via stem cell injection

Nerve cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells have the potential to reverse paralysis.Credit: IKELOS GmbH/Dr. Christopher B. Jackson/SPL A paralysed man can stand on his own after receiving an injection of neural stem cells to treat his spinal cord injury. The Japanese man was one of four individuals in a first-of-its-kind trial that used reprogrammed stem cells to treat people who are paralysed. Another man can now move his arms and legs following the treatment, but the two others did not show substantial improvements. The trial was run by Hideyuki Okano, a stem-cell scientist at Keio University in Tokyo, and his colleagues. The results, which were announced at a press conference on 21 March and have not yet been peer reviewed, suggest that the treatment is safe, say researchers. “That’s a great positive outcome. It’s very exciting for the field,” says James St John, a translational neuroscientist at Griffith University in the Gold Coast, Australia. Previous trials usin ... Read full article.