New hope was raised yesterday for people left paralyzed by injury, after doctors said they had succeeded in using stem cells to restore feeling in two patients.
In a world first, doctors at Zurich University said two out of three men who had agreed to take part in an early trial, had regained some sensation below the level of their injuries.
It is the first time anyone has reported a positive outcome from stem cell therapy for severe spinal cord injury - and holds out the possibility of greater things in years to come.
The ultimate aim is to help those paralysed by injury to walk again.
Stem cells are special cells that can turn themselves into almost any kind of cell in the body. Those from human embryos have that absolute ability, while 'adult' stem cells have already specialized to a degree. For instance, neural stem cells can special ise into different type of nerve cells, but not something else like muscle or blood cells.
The trial worked on the theory that injected adult stem cells would transform themselves into spinal cord nerves, reconnecting brain and lower body.
Professor Armin Curt, leading the study, described the result as fundamental.
He said: To find something that can repair the spinal cord is a huge breakthrough. If we can show that something has changed for the better [as a result of stem cell therapy] thats fundamental.
He presented the findings at the annual conference of the International Spinal Cord Society in London on Monday.
Prof Curt was working in partnership with StemCells Inc., a Californian company which also has a base in Cambridge.
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This Stem Cell Breakthrough Helped Two Paralyzed People Feel Again