Nasal stem cells: a real therapy, not just hype

Telegraph | News | New hope for paralysed woman :
"Another approach being studied by scientists is to create nerve stem cells from embryonic tissue. Pro-life groups reject the use of embryos and promote the use of adult tissue, as in this case. Dr Lima does not like the use of embryonic stem cells: 'I am opposed but not only for ethical reasons. Mother Nature made embryonic stem cells to proliferate and adult stem cells to replace and repair. To defy Mother Nature's laws is, at least, dangerous.'"

Thus says a Portuguese physician who has been having very encouraging small successes using stem cells from the patient's own nose to repair spinal cord injury. It seems the olfactory nerves need to be replenished and repaired throughout our adult lives and the nose contains neurologically tuned stem cells for this purpose. Dr. Lima has pioneered the technique of harvesting some of these cells from the patient's nose and implanting them at the site of the spinal cord injury.

While the doctor cautions that full recovery for paralysis victims is highly unlikely, patients who were once bound to wheelchairs have been enabled to get about with leg braces and a walker. There is also some recovery of bowel and bladder control. These are tremendous quality of life improvements. And there are no ethical and technical complications introduced by use of fetal tissue.

The fetal tissue debate has been a red herring from the beginning. There has been almost no demonstration that fetal stem cells are better suited than stem cells from placentas, umbilical cord blood, or the patients themselves and much evidence that fetal cells are less suitable.

In other news on the spinal cord injury front, there is encouraging news on the use of polyethylene glycol injections in repairing spinal cord injuries in dogs. The procedure had previously shown promise in guinea pigs, and preparations are underway for human trials. One serious difficulty will be that the injections seem to work only when given within a few days of the injury.