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MORE GOOD NEWS FOR SPINAL CORD INJURED PEOPLE OUT THERE. IT GIVES ME REASON TO SMILE:
Harsha, a Bangalore-based paraplegic, too has reason to smile these days. He had got used to life in a wheelchair for years. But a mesenchymal stem cell transplant in his spinal chord has given him some hope. Harsha can now move his limbs a little, and that's given him a new lease of hope. A NEW LEASE OF HOPE? THAT SOUNDS POSITIVE. LET'S HEAR MORE ABOUT THIS:
Every year, India gets over 20,000 cases of spinal cord injury patients. A new Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy could be the answer for these patients. The research, conducted by a team of doctorsneurosurgeon, St Philomenas Hospital, Bangalore. "This system maximises the yield of stem cells. The chances of loss in the bloodstream is minimised," Rao explains.
Traditionally, stem cells have always been injected either through intravenous drips or through lumber puncture directly into the cerebo-spinal fluid. But when injected this way, the stem cells float around the body or in the blood stream. Very few of them reach the target. Moreover, in case of spinal cord injuries, the adjoining tissues let out a signal called cytobine signals, which attract stem cells from other parts of body to heal the injury. But in case of an old injury, these signals are not let out anymore. Therefore, the stem cells that are injected in the body through the traditional method may not get attracted to the injury at all. The new method takes care of all this. Here, MSCs are injected directly into the injury for maximum effect. These can create tissues or cartilage or bones as required by the injury and repair it.
So what are MSCs? Stem cells, or master cells as they are popularly known as, are cells that can divide and produce copies of themselves and other types of cells. Doctors are using them to treat complex problems like Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries, end-stage liver diseases. While we are familiar with embryonic stem cells drawn from the umbilical cord, there are many other types of human stem cells. MSCs are found in the bone marrow. They can be derived into a variety of cells in the laboratory, including fat cells, cartilage, bone, tendons and ligaments, muscles cells, skin cells and even nerve cells. In fact, scientists can even grow these cells in culture. Experts say, unlike most other human adult stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells can be obtained in quantities appropriate for clinical applications, making them good candidates for use in tissue repair. Since the techniques for isolation and amplification of these stem cells in culture have been established, the cells can be maintained and propagated in culture for long periods of time without losing their capacity to form all the above cell types. at Bangalore-based Stempeutics Research, has shown promising results. In the pilot study, MSCs were injected directly into the spinal cord of the patient for maximum efficacy. It was injected either intra-arterially or through intra-spinal (site of injury) route. This new technique of injecting of stem cells close to the site of injury showed good results. "This is the first time anyone has tried injecting stem cells directly into the injured area. And we got good results," says Dr Sujay Rao, consultant THIS IS GREAT NEWS AS IT MAY GIVE EVEN MORE PROMISE TO THE ALREADY PROMISING PROSPECTS OF HELPING SPINAL CORD INJURIES WITH ADULT STEM CELL THERAPY. AS DOCTORS AND RESEARCHERS IMPROVE DELIVERY METHODS OF THE STEM CELLS, WE SHOULD BE SEEING EVEN MORE ADULT STEM CELL VICTORIES IN THE NEAR FUTURE. CLICK HERE TO READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE