The world’s first cell transplant enables paralyzed man to walk.
A ground-breaking cell transplant, the world’s first, was carried out by surgeons in Poland in collaboration with scientists in London on Darek Fidyka who was paralyzed from the chest down after a brutal knife attack in 2010 left with an 8mm gap in his spinal column. He showed no sign of recovery despite many months of intensive physiotherapy.
Darek’s injuries were so severe that no level of therapy could give him feeling back into his legs. The scientists and surgeons in Poland have given Fidyka the opportunity to walk again, thanks to a joint effort into a new procedure using cell transplants from his olfactory bulbs.
They first extracted one of Fidyka’s olfactory bulbs before proceeding to grow external olfactory ensheathing cells and attach them onto his damaged spine. This process allowed nerve fibers to be linked back together and gradually come back.
The OEC’s act as intermediary cells which repair and renew damaged nerve fibers. 100 micro injections were made around the affected area and four thin layers of nerve tissue from Fidyka’s ankle were attached to the damaged region.
Three months passed before the medical experts began to notice muscle mass developing on his left thigh. Another three months elapsed after which Fidyka was able to stand and take his first minor yet groundbreaking steps
Six months after surgery, Mr Fidyka was able to walk along parallel bars, using leg braces and the support of a physiotherapist.
Two years after the treatment, he can now walk outside the rehabilitation centre using a frame. He has also recovered some bladder and bowel sensation .
Mr Fidyka still tires quickly when walking but hopes to become independent soon.
His programme of exercise undergoing 5 hours of physiotherapy, 5 days every week has continued after the transplant at the Akson Neuro-Rehabilitation Center in Wroclaw.
Scientists believe this is evidence that the recovery is due to regeneration, as signals from the brain controlling muscles in the left leg travel down the left side of the spinal cord.
MRI scans suggest that the gap in the cord has closed up following the treatment.
Years of research have now led to a safe technique for transplanting cells into the spinal cord. The treatment is the first successful case of cell transplant and paralysis reversal that will help get patients out of wheel chairs.
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