Neural Regeneration Via Stem Cells
Picking their test cases carefully, researchers are making progress towards a technology base for repairing nerves and brain cells: "Rats paralyzed due to loss of blood flow to the spine returned to near normal ambulatory function six weeks after receiving grafts of human spinal stem cells (hSSCs) ... We demonstrated that when damage has occurred due to a loss of blood flow to the spine's neural cells, by grafting human neural stem cells directly into the spinal cord we can achieve a progressive recovery of motor function ... Three of the nine rats injected with hSSCs returned to walking at six weeks, and three others had improved mobility in all lower extremity joints. All nine animals grafted with hSSCs achieved significantly better motor scores than those in the control group, and showed a consistent presence of transplanted cells in the spinal area. In all the rats grafted with the stem cells, the majority of transplanted human spinal stem cells survived and became mature neurons ... Other human stem cell transplants in the spinal cord have focused on repairing the myelin-forming cells. In this study, we succeeded at reconstructing the neural circuitry, which had not been done before."
Link: http://health.ucsd.edu/news/2007/5-31-stemcell-marsala.htm