Paralyzed Patients Regain Movement in Stem Cell Trial: Is It Too Early to Celebrate?

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November 2017

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David Gorn

Lucas Linder was in a car accident in 2016 that left him without the use of his hands or legs. After receiving 10 million stem cells as part of the SCiStar trial, he can throw a ball, type and use a soldering gun. (Asterias Biotherapeutics)

If you’ve been reading about the SCiStar stem cell trial, you know the company’s reports of its initial results sound truly remarkable.

The trial is injecting oligodendrocyte progenitor cells, produced from human embryonic stem cells, into patients ages 18-69. These trial subjects have suffered recent spinal cord injuries in the neck, resulting in the loss of nearly all sensation and movement below the injury, as well as some paralysis of the arms and legs.

The results so far: One year after six people with severe spinal cord injuries received a dose of more than 10 million stem cells, all six patients have progressed at least one motor level on both sides of their bodies, based on a widely used scale that measures the range of movement in various muscles.

To read the entire article, click this link.

Originally published on KQED Science, October 26, 2017 by David Gorn: Future of You

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