Big photo: About two decades ago, Shinya Yamanaka and Kazutoshi Takahashi found that they could convert mature somatic cells back into stem cells. Scientists predicted that these new cells could be the key to regenerative treatment for serious injuries and conditions. Today, another Japanese team has achieved promising results before this success.
Researchers at the University of KO have begun using Pluripotent Stem Sale (IP) for treatment and perhaps also cured severe spinal cord injuries. The IPS technology was first conceived by Shinya Yamanaka in 2006, who later received the Nobel Prize with John Gurdan, to find out that they could reuse adult cells to return to their pluripotants, stem cell-like state.
Shortly after Yamanaka announced his discovery, the KO team started working on an IPS-based treatment. During a recent press conference, Physiology Professor Hideyuki Okano and his colleagues reported the results of their first clinical IPS trial. Scientists implanted patients with four spinal cord injury with pluripotent stem cells to grow millions of new nerve cells.
Okano said that two patients recovered the “some” motor function, gaining the ability to stand using a support mechanism with a subject. The other two patients did not experience any improvement in their condition, although neither the procedure had any adverse effects.
The patient receiving IPS cells injured his spinal cord between 14 and 28 days. They also found immunospent drugs to prevent rejection. So far, researchers have noticed any signs of the deadly growth of transplanted cells. The patient who gained his ability to stand is now going through rehabilitation, and he can also gain the ability to walk.
About 100,000 people are affected by spinal injuries in Japan, the only treatment available to improve their stay conditions with rehabilitation. Only 10–12 percent of patients recover some motor functions through rehabilitation, but the new IPS technology can significantly increase this percentage.
KO researchers noted that their clinical testing as a possible treatment for spinal cord injuries would be prematurely. While they considered the results successful, the sample size was too small to overtake itself. However, after proving IPS treatment safe, researchers plan to execute very large trials through Pharma of an enterprise capital company established by KO University.
