Medical innovations - keep an eye on the future

[reedy]

I read this and thought folks here might be interested:

Nose cell transplant enables paralysed dogs to walk
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20365355
'Scientists have reversed paralysis in dogs after injecting them with cells grown from the lining of their nose.'

with this as the key point for us:
'Partial repair
The researchers say the transplanted cells regenerated nerve fibres across the damaged region of the spinal cord. This enabled the dogs to regain the use of their back legs and coordinate movement with their front limbs.

The new nerve connections did not occur over the long distances required to connect the brain to the spinal cord. The MRC scientists say in humans this would be vital for spinal injury patients who had lost sexual function and bowel and bladder control.

Prof Geoffrey Raisman, chair of Neural Regeneration at University College London, who discovered olfactory ensheathing cells in 1985 said: "This is not a cure for spinal cord injury in humans - that could still be a long way off. But this is the most encouraging advance for some years and is a significant step on the road towards it."

He said the clinical benefits were still limited: "This procedure has enabled an injured dog to step with its hind legs, but the much harder range of higher functions lost in spinal cord injury - hand function, bladder function, temperature regulation, for example - are yet more complicated and still a long way away." '

It turns out that my NS here in London is involved in olfactory cell transplant research, as well as seeing clinical patients. He's considered the syringomyelia go-to guy at the NHNNS in London, so someone who knows SM is working on this. I did ask him once about the applications of his research to human patients and he just shook his head and said its a long way off. But you never know, the future has a way of rushing up on us...

[pmaxwell]

Thank you for sharing, it allows hope and that is all that is sometimes needed to get through the day.

[rdm73]

Good news is good news. A rare thing to see on this site. Thanks!!!

[gunflint]

It is interesting. I'm glad that medical innovations are underway in the UK.I'm scheduled to go back to the NIH next week. I just read that the NIH is looking at a $2,000,000,000 cut in funding in 2013. I hope that they will know more about the funding cuts by next week.

[reedy]

The 'fiscal cliff' cuts in funding will happen if Congress keeps the president's budget from being approved.
The good news is that at least the results of the election tended to go in the direction of candidates who generally respect evidence and are pro-science. Now we just need to get through the process of budgetary agreement. The schedule for that is by the end of December/early January.
http://www.aibs.org/public-policy/news/ ... video.html

[Gill]

Hi reedy

I sent you a personal message on your original post.

Gill

[Gill]

Hi Reedy

Urgent info on Queens Square NS would be appreciated if you see this!

Thanks

Gill

[reedy]

Hi Gill

Sorry, I only just now saw this. Did you not get my PM, or do you not know how to reply with a PM? It will give me an alert in my email, whereas this requires that I stumble on the thread again....and I haven't opened ASAP for a while recently.

What do you want to know about Queen's Square? I see Dr David Choi there, and other specialists as well. However, I've been lucky enough to be accepted on the NIH study in Washington, thus I've had my surgeries there, by Dr Heiss.

Best to send questions via PM if you can.