Personal injury news

Scientists make spinal cord injury breakthrough

Scientists in the United States have revealed that new stem-cell technology has allowed rats suffering from spinal cord injury to walk again within two weeks.

The news is sure to be welcomed by surgeons around the world, as well as by the thousands of motorcycle accident and car crash victims who are forced to live with the terrible reality of spinal cord injury.

The research was funded in part by the Christopher Reeve Foundation, a charitable organisation that aims to help the development of treatment and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders.

According to the study findings, rodents given immature immune support cells experienced a 40% rise in nerve-fibre growth at the site of the injury in only eight days. This is ground-breaking progress and as Dr Wise Young, a neuroscientist, commented, "This is going to create a lot of excitement in the field."

Leading the study was Dr Stephen Davies, an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and a leader in the field of spinal cord injury research.

Speaking to the media, he said, "Stem cell technology is moving at a tremendous pace at the moment, and this study makes advances in how to use that technology."

For more information about spinal cord injury, go to www.christopherreeve.org.