US EditionParalysed man stands again after receiving ‘reprogrammed’ stem cells
- Researchers at Keio University in Tokyo, led by Hideyuki Okano, conducted a first-of-its-kind clinical trial where four adult men with severe spinal cord injuries were treated with induced pluripotent stem cells , with the first surgery occurring in December 2021 and three others between 2022 and 2023.
- This trial was based on the discovery by Shinya Yamanaka and Kazutoshi Takahashi nearly two decades ago that mature somatic cells could be reprogrammed into stem cells, a breakthrough for which Yamanaka later received the Nobel Prize with John Gurdon.
- The iPS cells, injected directly into the injury sites at a dosage of two million cells per patient between 14 and 28 days after the injury, were intended to develop into new neural cells to repair the damaged spinal cord, and patients received immunosuppressant drugs to prevent rejection.
- Okano reported that one patient regained the ability to stand with support and is now in rehabilitation, while another showed some improvement in arm and leg movement, leading to cautious optimism despite two patients not experiencing significant improvement and the need for larger trials to confirm the results.
- These early results suggest that iPS technology could potentially increase the percentage of patients regaining motor function, although researchers emphasize that it is premature to hail the trial as a definitive cure for spinal cord injuries, and James St John suggests the improvements could be due to natural recovery.
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