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A spinal injury patient has become the first person to be treated with human embryonic stem cells, using a process that could potentially allow paralysed individuals to regain some movement.

The groundbreaking clinical trial in Atlanta will test the safety of specialised nerve cells which researchers are hoping will be able to repair spinal cord injury.

If successful, the treatment could allow patients to regain the use of their legs, bladders or even a finger which they could use to control their chair, giving them more independence.

Preclinical studies have shown that the treatment significantly improved movement in animals with damaged spinal cords, as the embryonic cells have encouraged nerve cells to re-grow.

There is currently no cure for paralysis caused by spinal injury and the US government-authorised research, which is being conducted by the Geron Corporation, is very controversial.

However, Dr Michael Sofroniew, a neurobiologist at UCLA's David Geffen school of medicine, warns that people should not expect too much of the treatment.

"Yes, there's enormous potential there, but we have to approach it in a realistic way," he told the Los Angeles Times.

Spinal cord injury is usually treated with surgery to decompress the injury site and stabilise the spinal cord, according to Dr Robert Grossman, chairman of neurosurgery at Methodist Hospital in Houston.

Posted by Timothy Walters

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