Paralysis Patients Tout Adult Stem Cells
Portuguese Surgery Soon to Seek FDA Approval in U.S.
June
24, 2004 -- An experimental surgery using stem cells from adult organs
is showing promise in helping patients paralyzed with spinal cord
injuries.
Two patients paralyzed in automobile accidents in 2001
say the experimental procedure has helped them gain use of muscles they
were told by doctors would never function again. Both say they are now
able to walk with the use of leg braces.
"I'm also walking with braces, like one-fourth of a mile," says Laura Dominguez, a 19-year-old from El Paso, Texas.
The surgery, called olfactory mucosa transplantation,
involves removing cells from the nerve that transmits the sense of
smell to the brain. These brain cells -- located near the roof of the
nasal cavity -- regenerate efficiently and are then transplanted into
the injured area of the spinal cord. These transplanted cells seem to
be able to transform into nerve cells that help repair the spinal cord
injury. These cells serve as alternatives to using embryonic stem cells
for the same purpose.
The surgery was pioneered by Carlos Lima, MD, a
neurologist at Hospital Egaz Moniz in Lisbon, Portugal. Lima has
treated 26 patients, all of whom have shown some improvement, according
to Jean D. Peduzzi-Nelson, PhD, a university of Alabama at Birmingham
researcher conducting studies with Lima in the U.S.
Susan Fajt, 26, of Austin, Texas, says that she has
learned to walk with the help of leg braces following her transplant
performed by Lima in June 2003. Fajt says that doctors told her
following her injury, "I would never walk, swim, you name it, take a
bath by myself." Now she says she can do all those things.
Stem Cell Debate a Factor
Both Fajt and Dominguez appeared at a press conference
in the Washington office of Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.). Brownback
promotes adult stem cell procedures, like olfactory mucosa transplants,
to help cure diseases but opposes the use of embryonic stem cells,
which require the destruction of a human embryo to obtain cells.
Many researchers and lawmakers want to expand the use
of embryonic stem cells, arguing that they could have the potential to
treat more diseases than adult stem cells because they may be able to
differentiate into a wider range of tissues and have an unlimited
capacity for self-renewal unlike stem cells from adult organs.
Rehabilitation Critical
According to Peduzzi-Nelson, most patients have not enjoyed as much success as the two young women.
She says most people who have undergone the procedure
have shown improvements in sensation rather than improvements in muscle
skills.
Much of the surgery's success so far depends on
extensive physical rehabilitation for patients, says Jay Meythaler, MD,
chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Wayne State University
in Detroit.
"Without rehabilitation, apparently, you don't get
recovery," he says. Meythaler is part of a team preparing a study aimed
at gaining FDA approval for olfactory mucosal transplantation in the
U.S.
Researchers are still busy figuring out the best
rehabilitation procedures in an attempt to maximize improvement in
people who undergo olfactory mucosal transplant.
Lima has yet to publish his findings in a peer-reviewed
scientific journal. Peduzzi-Nelson says that she, Lima, and other
researchers will publish a report of the patients as well as results
from two animal studies within the next six months.
SOURCES: Laura Dominguez, patient, El Paso, Texas. Susan Fajt, patient, Austin, Texas. Jean D. Peduzzi-Nelson, PhD, research associate professor of physiological optics, department of physiological optics,
University of Alabama, Birmingham. Jay Meythaler, MD, chief, physical
medicine and rehabilitation, Wayne State University, Detroit.
© 2004 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.
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