SAN FRANCISCO (April 10, 2000) - A recent study examining the effects of embryonic stem cell therapy may offer hope to people paralyzed by spinal cord injuries. Todd J. Stewart, MD, will report on the results of this novel treatment at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), on Monday, April 10, 2000.

In the study, 40 rats were randomized into treatment and non-treatment groups. Both groups had an injury delivered to the spinal cord. The rats receiving treatment were injected with roughly one million embryonic stem cells ? cells isolated from the dividing cell mass after in vitro fertilization which can differentiate into every type of cell in the body.

Beginning at week three, and continuing throughout the study, the treatment group had better use of their hindlimbs than the control group that was not given the stem cell injections. Most important, is that the researchers waited nine days before administering the stem cell therapy. Prior to this study, less than 24 hours had been considered the therapeutic window for administering spinal cord treatments in rodents. These experiments were performed in the laboratory of John W. McDonald, MD, PhD, at Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis).

"In a spinal cord injury, the communicating nerve cell impulses are blocked or the nerves are severed, preventing brain signals that control arm and leg movement from traveling beyond the point of injury to the body, and vice versa," said Dr. Stewart. "This approach to stem cell therapy represents a potential means for repairing that communication block and reversing some of the damage from spinal cord injuries."

Approximately 450,000 people in the United States have sustained spinal cord injuries (SCI), with more than 10,000 new cases reported in the U.S. every year. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of SCI (44 percent), followed by acts of violence (24 percent), falls (22 percent), sports injuries (8 percent) and other causes (2 percent).

Describing the potential impact of this trial for humans, Dr. Stewart said, "Doctors and patients should be encouraged by the results, but should also be patient and view this as a preliminary step in developing a treatment for chronic spinal cord injury. It is important to realize that this research is in its infancy, but this new treatment has great potential for improving function after spinal cord injury to help individuals with debilitating motor dysfunction return to increasingly normal lives."

Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a scientific and educational association with nearly 5,500 members worldwide. The AANS is dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to provide the highest quality of neurosurgical care to the public. All active members of the AANS are Board-certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery. Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the spine, brain, nervous system and peripheral nerves.

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