The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Stem cell therapy holds out hope for paralysed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 13, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Stem cell therapy holds out hope for paralysed

Ramya Kannan

Four patients regain different degree of sensation

CHENNAI: Four patients, paralysed (after a fall/disease) and left without sensation from waist downwards, are now showing improvement that conventional therapy could not have achieved, says doctors.

Two of them are able to walk. While Akbar Ali needs no assistance, 19-year-old Prabhdeep Singh uses crutches. The two others, Kothandarama Reddy and Srinivas Krishnan, are showing signs of improvement.

All of them are patients at Lifeline Multispeciality Hospital, Perungudi.

Doctors say the password to the world of such fantastic cures is stem cell. These cells are pluripotent, or have the potential to convert to any cell.

In each of the four patients, a small amount of fluid was extracted from the bone marrow (a source of adult stem cells) and processed with appropriate growth factors at the Centre for Regenerative Medicine laboratory. It was re-injected as stem cells into the site of the spine where the injury had occurred, explains R. Ravi Kumar, co-ordinator, Stem Cell Therapy, Lifeline.

In Akbar Ali, the change is striking. He had no sensation in the lower body six months ago, but has now come a long way. As many as 17 of the 50 patients so far treated at the hospital are showing "definite improvement" while four others are showing some improvement, Dr. Ravi Kumar says.

A total of 120 cases of patients with similar spinal cord trauma injuries will be given the same treatment, to see if the results follow a pattern, says J.S. Rajkumar, chairman, Lifeline group. "We are excited about the outcome. It encourages us to work on stem cell therapy for liver cirrhosis, Parkinson's disease and diabetes too."

The cost

It costs an average of Rs.1 lakh per patient, inclusive of hospitalisation expenses. For the patients, though, it is too small a price to pay for regaining use of their limbs, bladder and bowels.

"The next time you see me I'll be walking," avers Mr. Reddy says from his wheelchair. Srinivas is awaiting the day when sensation returns to his body chest downwards. Prabhdeep is confident he will after all enjoy his youth. As for Akbar Ali, he's now contemplating marriage.

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