7 ms·

First-of-its-kind trial enables paralysed man to stand via stem cell injection

175 points by bentobean 2y ago

bentobean 2y ago
https://archive.ph/DRYvk https://archive.ph/DRYvk
sharpshadow 2y ago
That’s truly amazing! Maybe someday we can heal brain damage his way.
busymom0 2y ago
Isn't Ronnie Coleman also going through this to be able to walk again?
lambdaone 2y ago
Possibly enables him to stand, according to the article - several other patients weren't helped by the treatment, and in the case that showed a positive effect the researchers currently can't eliminate the possibility of natural recovery causing the improvement. But it's promising work, shows the treatment seems at least to be safe, and more research will no doubt follow to clarify this.
- adamtaylor_13 2y ago
  It wasn’t clear from the article: how do you naturally recover from a spinal cord injury? I’m assuming we can’t be talking about a fully severed spinal cord. Is it common to recover from a spinal cord injury that leads to some sort of paralysis?
  - bobmcnamara 2y ago
    Common? No idea. I witnessed someone paralyzed from cervical radiculopathy in the neck caused by youthful horseplay. Full recovery within a month. Scared us all when he went limp.
  - chrisweekly 2y ago
    Nerves do regrow, just very very slowly.
    - pedalpete 2y ago
      Nerves do regrow, but not from the spinal cord as I understand it, and just because they regrow does not mean they regrow along the path which is needed to repair function. My father broke his Bricial Plexis (the nerves running through your shoulder to your arm). There was an 18 hour surgery to re-trace the path for the nerves to grow. Some nerves made a connection, and he has minimal movement in his fingers. However, most of his arm is still paralyzed.
    - ainiriand 2y ago
      I got the ear nerve almost severed as a kid and I am still 100% deaf from that ear, it's been 30 years already.
      - throwaway7783 2y ago
        If you don't mind sharing, how did it happen?
        ainiriand 2y ago
        Removal of https://radiopaedia.org/articles/intracranial-epidermoid-cyst https://radiopaedia.org/articles/intracranial-epidermoid-cys...
      - delfinom 2y ago
        What, shouldn't that nerve be more ...internal...what crazy head injury did you sustain
- delfinom 2y ago
  Easy way to eliminate the possibly. Stop the immunosuppressant pills and see what happens.
- mb7733 2y ago
  The man in question can and did stand, no 'possibly' about it. This statement a specific case is different than the probability of it working in general.
  - RIMR 2y ago
    > The man in question can and did stand, no 'possibly' about it. Nobody said otherwise. It's still very true that this treatment only possibly enabled him to stand. From the article: >Larger trials will be needed to establish whether the improvements observed in the two individuals in the current study were a result of the treatment.
    - mb7733 2y ago
      Sorry, misread your post.
kylehotchkiss 2y ago
How does a stem cell with somebody else's DNA not trigger your own immune system? I'd understand if you could repurpose your own bone marrow (which is a type of stem cell, right?) or neurological stem cells, but I'd sort of expect the immune system to reject others similar to a bad organ transplant or wrong blood type transfusion.
- y-c-o-m-b 2y ago
  From the article: > Recipients were given immune-suppressing drugs to prevent their bodies from attacking the cells for six months after the surgery.
  - dyauspitr 2y ago
    Seems like it would need to be lifelong because those cells end up differentiating and fixing the damage so they will always be in there.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
    - umpalumpaaa 2y ago
      Immunosuppressive or immune modulating drugs are not that bad. Usually people can take them without too much issues. Yes: Your risk for cancer increases a bit and you have to be careful to not get sick etc. but overall its not that bad. Most people who have autoimmune diseases also need to take those drugs usually for life – (smaller dosages but still)...
      - LoganDark 2y ago
        > and you have to be careful to not get sick etc. Sooo easy.
        throwway120385 2y ago
        Especially if you have kids.
dadjoker 2y ago
[dead]
bufferoverflow 2y ago
2015: Human embryonic stem cells in the treatment of patients with spinal cord injury https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4627203/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4627203/
CommanderData 2y ago
Could a bio compatible gel containing steroids not work instead of systemically giving steroids?
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
dinkblam 2y ago
sorry, slightly offtopic: does anyone have any experience or can recommend good clinics (in europe) for doing stem-cell therapy for lower back pain (damaged discs)?
narrator 2y ago
There was some guy on reddit 10 years ago who got stem cell injections in China and was able to walk after being paralyzed and posted about it. Almost everyone on the thread gaslighted him that he must have never actually been paralyzed or was lying. The future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed.

175 points by bentobean 2y ago

bentobean 2y ago

https://archive.ph/DRYvk https://archive.ph/DRYvk

sharpshadow 2y ago

That’s truly amazing! Maybe someday we can heal brain damage his way.

busymom0 2y ago

Isn't Ronnie Coleman also going through this to be able to walk again?

lambdaone 2y ago

Possibly enables him to stand, according to the article - several other patients weren't helped by the treatment, and in the case that showed a positive effect the researchers currently can't eliminate the possibility of natural recovery causing the improvement. But it's promising work, shows the treatment seems at least to be safe, and more research will no doubt follow to clarify this.

adamtaylor_13 2y ago
It wasn’t clear from the article: how do you naturally recover from a spinal cord injury? I’m assuming we can’t be talking about a fully severed spinal cord. Is it common to recover from a spinal cord injury that leads to some sort of paralysis?
- bobmcnamara 2y ago
  Common? No idea. I witnessed someone paralyzed from cervical radiculopathy in the neck caused by youthful horseplay. Full recovery within a month. Scared us all when he went limp.
- chrisweekly 2y ago
  Nerves do regrow, just very very slowly.
  - pedalpete 2y ago
    Nerves do regrow, but not from the spinal cord as I understand it, and just because they regrow does not mean they regrow along the path which is needed to repair function. My father broke his Bricial Plexis (the nerves running through your shoulder to your arm). There was an 18 hour surgery to re-trace the path for the nerves to grow. Some nerves made a connection, and he has minimal movement in his fingers. However, most of his arm is still paralyzed.
  - ainiriand 2y ago
    I got the ear nerve almost severed as a kid and I am still 100% deaf from that ear, it's been 30 years already.
    - throwaway7783 2y ago
      If you don't mind sharing, how did it happen?
      - ainiriand 2y ago
        Removal of https://radiopaedia.org/articles/intracranial-epidermoid-cyst https://radiopaedia.org/articles/intracranial-epidermoid-cys...
    - delfinom 2y ago
      What, shouldn't that nerve be more ...internal...what crazy head injury did you sustain
delfinom 2y ago
Easy way to eliminate the possibly. Stop the immunosuppressant pills and see what happens.
mb7733 2y ago
The man in question can and did stand, no 'possibly' about it. This statement a specific case is different than the probability of it working in general.
- RIMR 2y ago
  > The man in question can and did stand, no 'possibly' about it. Nobody said otherwise. It's still very true that this treatment only possibly enabled him to stand. From the article: >Larger trials will be needed to establish whether the improvements observed in the two individuals in the current study were a result of the treatment.
  - mb7733 2y ago
    Sorry, misread your post.

kylehotchkiss 2y ago

How does a stem cell with somebody else's DNA not trigger your own immune system? I'd understand if you could repurpose your own bone marrow (which is a type of stem cell, right?) or neurological stem cells, but I'd sort of expect the immune system to reject others similar to a bad organ transplant or wrong blood type transfusion.

y-c-o-m-b 2y ago
From the article: > Recipients were given immune-suppressing drugs to prevent their bodies from attacking the cells for six months after the surgery.
- dyauspitr 2y ago
  Seems like it would need to be lifelong because those cells end up differentiating and fixing the damage so they will always be in there.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - umpalumpaaa 2y ago
    Immunosuppressive or immune modulating drugs are not that bad. Usually people can take them without too much issues. Yes: Your risk for cancer increases a bit and you have to be careful to not get sick etc. but overall its not that bad. Most people who have autoimmune diseases also need to take those drugs usually for life – (smaller dosages but still)...
    - LoganDark 2y ago
      > and you have to be careful to not get sick etc. Sooo easy.
      - throwway120385 2y ago
        Especially if you have kids.

dadjoker 2y ago

[dead]

bufferoverflow 2y ago

2015: Human embryonic stem cells in the treatment of patients with spinal cord injury https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4627203/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4627203/

CommanderData 2y ago

Could a bio compatible gel containing steroids not work instead of systemically giving steroids?

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

dinkblam 2y ago

sorry, slightly offtopic: does anyone have any experience or can recommend good clinics (in europe) for doing stem-cell therapy for lower back pain (damaged discs)?

narrator 2y ago

There was some guy on reddit 10 years ago who got stem cell injections in China and was able to walk after being paralyzed and posted about it. Almost everyone on the thread gaslighted him that he must have never actually been paralyzed or was lying. The future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed.