Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

UCSD To Test Safety of Spinal Stem Cell Injection

Posted by samzenpus on from the learning-to-walk-again dept.

An anonymous reader writes Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have launched a clinical trial to investigate the safety of neural stem cell transplantation in patients with chronic spinal cord injuries. This Phase I clinical trial is recruiting eight patients for the 5-year study. Pre-clinical studies of these cells by Ciacci and Martin Marsala, MD, at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, showed that these grafted neural stem cells improved motor function in spinal cord injured rats with minimal side effects indicating that human clinical trials are now warranted.

3 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. Worst that could happen? by TWX · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A teacher of mine was a quadriplegic, minor arm movement, but no fingers/hands, and nothing in the lower half of his body.

    Beyond this treatment actually sickening and/or killing the patient, what is the worst that could happen, from a safety point of view? I know that's in-part the point of the study, but many of those individuals that are this badly injured (or worse, no motion below the neck would probably gladly trade the risk of death for getting their bodies to work again.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    1. Re:Worst that could happen? by currently_awake · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You might prevent a future treatment that actually works. I believe that horribly injured/dying with no cure possible should be allowed to "experiment" with anything that has the slightest chance of working, with informed consent.

  2. Another Trade Vanishes by JimSadler · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Just imagine if we can fix spinal cords how many layoffs will occur in the wheel chair industries!. And home health aids may be less in demand as well as many people confined to chairs need a lot of help in the homes. This is one time that technology replaces workers that the world can rejoice and even giving more hope to the injured is in itself so vitally important. Now if we could just find a way to eliminate funeral workers -----