November 19, 2012

expert reaction to spinal cord regeneration in dogs

Researchers publishing in the journal Brain have shown it is possible to restore co-ordinated limb movement in dogs with severe spinal cord injury, using a unique type of stem cell to regenerate the damaged part of the dogs’ spines.

Prof Geoffrey Raisman FRS, Chair of Neural Regeneration at University College London, said:

“This is not a cure for spinal cord injury in humans – that could still be a long way off.  But this is the most encouraging advance for some years and is a significant step on the road towards it.   

“This innovative process uses ‘olfactory ensheathing’ cells taken from the dog’s own nasal lining.  Their purpose is specialised for the repair of nerve fibres in the nose, and by transplanting them to the spinal cord they can do the same repair work there.

“This shows convincingly that the beneficial effects previously reported in rodents can be produced in other species.  That is encouraging for application in human injuries. 

“But from a clinical perspective, the benefits are still limited at this stage.  This procedure has enabled an injured dog to step with its hind legs, but the much harder range of higher functions lost in spinal cord injury – hand function, bladder function, temperature regulation, for example – are yet more complicated and still a long way away.”

‘Autologous olfactory mucosal cell transplants in clinical spinal cord injury: a randomized, double-blinded trial in a canine translational model’ by Nicolas Granger et al., published in Brain, on Monday 19th November.