From Geoffrey Raisman, Institute of Neurology, University College London
Further to your coverage of the use of stem cells to recover mobility in dogs with damaged spines (24 November, p 7), it is important to make clear that this is not a cure for spinal cord injury in humans. But it is the most encouraging advance for some years, and is a significant step on the road towards a human cure.
The innovative process in this research uses olfactory “ensheathing” cells taken from the dog’s own nasal lining. In the nose, these cells repair nerve fibres, and they can do the same job when transplanted to the spinal cord. This shows that the beneficial effects previously reported in rodents can be produced in other species and systems. That is encouraging for application in human injuries.
From a clinical perspective, the benefits are still limited at this stage. This procedure has enabled an injured dog to step with its hind legs, but restoring the higher functions lost in human spinal cord injury – such as hand manoeuvrability, bladder function and temperature regulation – is more complicated and still a long way away.
Your report on the treatment for semi-paralysed canines talked of a placebo for dogs. Surely not.
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