Paralysed man walks again after cell transplant

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29645760

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  • * A paralysed man has been able to walk again after a pioneering therapy that involved transplanting cells from his nasal cavity into his spinal cord.
  • * Darek Fidyka, who was paralysed from the chest down in a knife attack in 2010, can now walk using a frame.

  • * One of the patient’s two olfactory bulbs was removed and the olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) were grown in culture
  • * 100 micro injections of OECs were made above and below the damaged area of the spinal cord
  • * The scientists believe the OECs acted as a pathway to stimulate the spinal cord cells to regenerate…
  • * He has also recovered some bladder and bowel sensation and sexual function.
  • * … no danger of rejection, so no need for immunosuppressive drugs used in conventional transplants.
  • * Prof Raisman has spent more than 40 years studying how to repair the spinal cord.

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