Another stem cell su…

Another stem cell success story. But once again, not embryonic stem cells; adult ones. And they came from the same person who was treated.

A British woman who was left paralysed by a riding accident has regained some movement after taking part in a pioneering trial in which stem cells were transplanted from her nose into her spine.

Kim Gould, the first British patient to have the operation, can now crawl and has some sensation.

…

Now she has become one of the first patients to benefit from a pioneering trial by Dr Carlos Lima at the Egaz Moniz Hospital in Lisbon.

“If there’s a chance that you could possibly be better than being stuck in a wheelchair, paralysed, I think you’ve got to take it,” she said.

Because nasal tissue contains stem cells, which last a lifetime and are able to regenerate nerve tissue, it offers a way to patch up a broken spine. “Nature does most of the job, not us,” said Dr Lima, who has conducted the operation on 34 patients so far.

And this is no flash in the pan.

The first patient to have the operation three years ago is still improving, Dr Lima said. Some of his patients can now walk with braces or a walking frame.

Pardon me, John Edwards, but people already are getting up out of their wheelchairs.

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