Modern Medical Laboratory Journal

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a major cause of disability in developed countries. Current therapeutic options remain limited, and there is a need for more effective treatments to restore function in SCI patients. Recent progress in cellular therapy with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has provided improved function in animal models and for the first time in the clinical trial of SCI. Osamu Honmou et al. in a clinical trial reported a series of SCI patients treated with intravenous infusion of MSCs. In this study, 13 patients with SCI underwent the intravenous infusion of autologous bone marrow-derived MSCs. The observations of this study provided evidence supporting the feasibility, safety and functional improvements of infused MSCs into patients with SCI. In more than 50% of the patients, significant improvements in the ability to walk and to use their hands were reported in the 6 months follow-up. 
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