New hope for spinal injury sufferers?

Those currently seeking compensation for a spinal injury could soon be able to take advantage of a new medical development.

Researchers from Japan have devised a way of using stem cell technology to repair damaged spinal cords in mice.

And the technique may help those who have spinal injuries, if it can be proved to successfully work on humans,

The breakthrough has been made by team from several Japanese education establishments, including Keio University, which was founded in 1958 and operates five major campuses across the country.

Professor Hideyuki Okano of Keio University and Professor Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University led the research, which involved the use of induced pluripotent stem cells to repair damage caused to the spinal cords of mice.

Scientists had been having difficultly using these types of cells successfully, but this latest breakthrough shows it is possible to control their rate of growth by transplanting cells into the brains of the animals.

Posted by Patrick White

27/07/2010 08:15