Human stem cells allow paralysed mice to walk again
Ian Sample, science correspondent
Tuesday September 20, 2005
The Guardian
Scientists have used injections of human stem cells to heal spinal injuries in paralysed mice, allowing them to walk normally again.
The research, which was funded by the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, suggests that stem cells could be used to repair spinal damage in people who have suffered damaging accidents or disease, although further studies, including safety tests, are needed before the treatment can go into human trials.
Neuroscientist Aileen Anderson and her team at the Reeve-Irvine Research Centre at the University of California, Irvine, used stem cells taken from the neural tissue of aborted foetuses. When injected into the body, they can develop into any type of nervous tissue.
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