United Brachial Plexus Network

Reported March 8, 2010
Stem Cells for Spinal Cord Injuries: Medicine's Next Big Thing?

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IRVINE, Calif. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Nearly 300,000 people in the U.S. are living with a spinal cord injury. Every year, 12,000 people are told they'll never walk again after an accident ... but what if one injection of stem cells could pump new movement and new hope into a paralyzed body? A scientist who has spent the past decade in the lab looking for a cure says a new treatment is within reach. If he's right, it could revolutionize the treatment of spinal cord injuries.

What started out as a day on the beach ended up changing 31-year-old Janne Kouri's future.

"I was just playing beach volleyball, and I ran into the ocean for a swim to cool off," Kouri told Ivanhoe. "I dove into a wave and hit a sandbar and was instantly paralyzed, so life changed in a second. The day of the accident the nurse came out and told my girlfriend at the time that I'd never walk again."

In a UC Irvine lab not far away from where Kouri's accident happened, researcher Hans Keirstead, Ph.D., professor of anatomy and neurobiology at UC Irvine in Irvine, Calif., says he may hold the key to helping spinal cord injury patients regain movement.

"This treatment I designed is for individuals within two weeks of their injury, so it's a scary thought that the individuals that will receive this trial haven't even been injured yet," Dr. Keirstead told Ivanhoe.

Dr. Keirstead took human embryonic stem cells and coaxed them into becoming spinal cord cells, then he injected the concoction into rats. The new cells traveled throughout the damaged spinal cord and wrapped themselves around the nerves, restoring function.

"This is a very high purity population of a particular spinal cord cell type that's lost after injury," Dr. Keirstead explained.

In six weeks, the previously paralyzed rats walked. Dr. Keirstead says human trials could start later this year. About 10 patients will get an injection of cells directly into their spinal cords. The hope is to see small movements with three months.

"It would be wonderful for these patients to get out of their wheelchairs and play soccer," Dr. Keirstead said. "We do not -- let me be clear -- we do not expect that to happen with this treatment. This is going to be an incremental advance."

Since this is the first trial of its kind, there are still a lot of unknowns. Will the stem cells work as well in people as in animals? Will there be side effects? Could it be dangerous?

"There's risk to this thing," Dr. Keirstead added. "There's a lot of controversy over whether or not this is the right cell population. The patient community screams, 'Please develop treatments. We want them now. Choose me, not the rat.'"

Kouri's too late for this trial, but could be a candidate for Dr. Keirstead's next experiment -- using stem cells to help those who've been injured years ago. Kouri works out daily and keeps his muscles moving so he's ready.
"Once they figure out a solution, we want to be in the best possible shape to take advantage of these new solutions, whatever it is that they come up with," he said.

A man who's doing his part to stay active ... and hopes science catches up with his injury.

Some critics say they believe Dr. Keirstead is pushing this treatment on people too quickly, but when it does enter human trials, it will be regulated by the FDA. Dr. Keirstead says he realizes there's a chance it won't work. Two-thirds of new treatments never make it out of the second phase of testing.