Stem Cells Shown to Help Treat Spinal Cord Injuries

(NIH)

A study by researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio and Athersys Inc., a drug discovery company also in Cleveland, found adult stem cells can help treat spinal cord injuries in rodents. The study tested Athersys’s MultiStem product made of adult (non-embryonic) stem cells obtained from bone marrow. The findings appear in the January issue of The Journal of Neuroscience (paid subscription required).

The research team found the administration of multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPC) used in MultiStem following spinal cord injury in rodents prevented the retraction of neurons, a process referred to as axonal dieback, reduced inflammation in the region of injury, and also promoted the regrowth of neurons. Axons are the part of the nerve cell that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron’s cell body.

The study showed that MAPCs affect immune cells responding to the injury in a number of ways. MAPCs decreased the release of a harmful protein made by immune system cells called macrophages, known to induce axonal dieback. MAPCs also induced macrophages to shift from a state that encouraged inflammation to a state that discouraged inflammation.

In addition, MAPCs encouraged some neuron regrowth. The researchers found that MAPCs promote sensory neurite outgrowth beyond the site of the injury and induce sprouting. MAPCs likewise enable axons to overcome the negative effects of macrophages and other inhibitory molecules in their environment by increasing their intrinsic growth capacity.

According to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, there are currently more than 1,200,000 people in the United States living with spinal cord injury, and approximately 12,000 to 20,000 new cases occur each year. Most patients that suffer spinal cord injury are between the ages of 15 and 35. The long term cost of spinal cord damage is estimated to range from $500,000 to more than $3 million per patient, depending on the severity of the injury.

Read more: Clinical Trial of Stem Cell Therapy Underway

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