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Stem cell breakthrough

LONDON: Scientists have used injections of human stem cells to heal spinal injuries in paralysed mice, allowing them to walk normally again. The research, which was funded by the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, suggests that stem cells could be used to repair spinal damage in people who have suffered damaging accidents or disease, though further studies, including safety tests, are needed before the treatment can go into human trials. Neuroscientist Aileen Anderson and her team used stem cells taken from the neural tissue of aborted foetuses. The researchers simulated common spinal cord injuries in mice by bruising their backbones at a specific point. ``Animals that didn't get stem cells could only walk a little, and even though they improved slightly over the first two to three weeks, they were really struggling,'' said Prof. Anderson. ``The mice that got stem cells go from stepping just occasionally to stepping all the time.'' —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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