Stem cells could regenerate spinal discsRSS Feed

Those with spinal injury may one day be able to grow their own spine, according to researchers.

Scientists from Gothenburg University have grown stem cells which they believe would help a damaged disc to regenerate.

Degenerated discs between vertebrae are a frequent cause of lower back pain, leaving vertebrae to rub against each other. However, until this discovery, published in the Cells, Tissues and Organs journal, it was thought they could not be healed.

Ms Helena Barreto-Henriksson, Gothenburg University researcher, said that areas in the discs are similar to stem cells, meaning regeneration is possible.

"Images taken by MRI showed that the transplanted stem cells survived, that they developed into cells that had a function similar to that of disc cells, and that there was a certain degree of healing in the disc," she said.

This comes after news from researchers at the University of California and San Diego and VA Medical Center San Diego that primates, including humans, possess the innate ability to heal their own spine.

News brought to you by Serious Law specialists in spinal injury

Posted by Paul Breen
 

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