Umbilical Stems Cells show healthy promise

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Many years ago a young lad who was a close friend of my sons suffered a broken neck playing sport. He instantly became a quadriplegic and has been confined to a wheelchair for the past 16 years. Later on I had the privilege of being Physician to a Quadriplegic unit for those who could not care for themselves in the community, so I have first hand knowledge of the challenges that those with spinal injuries face.

Most of us hope that one day a cure will be found and those with spinal injuries will be able to get out of their chairs and walk. Everyone I met with a high spinal cord injury just wished for one thing - to be able to control their own bodily functions, and that means controlling their bladder and bowels without the help of others - walking was further down their wish list. Most researchers aim, not for the miracle "get out of your chair and walk" scenario, but to be able to "lower" the level of the lesion; which means that a quadriplegic would regain the use of their arms, and a paraplegic would get back the use of their legs.

Every now and then stories appear in the press which indicate that a new discovery has been made and a "break-thorough" is imminent, but most of those involved in spinal cord research know that any solution to the problem is going to be extraordinarily complex and will need many different factors to be controlled at the same time in order for progress to be made. Much is made of "Stem Cell" technology and the hope it offers, and these multi-potential cells do offer an Aladdin cave of possibilities, but put in crude terms, they are only the scaffolding and wiring of what is required. How do the nerves know in which direction to grow? How will they be able to recognize which cells to re-connect to? When will they know when to stop growing? And of course there have been ethical concerns about using Human Embryonic Stem Cells. But a recent report suggests that there may be an alternative to Embryonic Stem cells, and this would involve using stem cells derived from the Umbilical Cord, and hence overcome any ethical issues.

Hedvika Davis, a postdoctoral researcher in Hickman's lab, set out to transform umbilical stem cells into oligodendrocytes - critical structural cells that insulate nerves in the brain and spinal cord, and has developed a way of doing that using environmental as well as chemical stimulation. Whilst in theory, the injection of such cells into the damaged spinal cord might help to promote healing, the results are still a long way from being a cure for this devastating problem. But Dr Davies is more hopeful that her research will also lead to better management of  Multiple Sclerosis, a disease where nerve cells lose their Myelin covering, a process that damages their ability to transmit electrical impulses. Oligodendrocytes produce Myelin, and the hope is that these umbilical cells can be turned into cells that can help repair the cells damaged in Multiple Sclerosis.

So often often these discoveries seem like a drop in the ocean when compared to the enormous obstacles that confront them: but as a well known researcher I know often says, "That's what the ocean is made up of, a lot of drops"! 

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Drive to stay alive

Tweet With the advent of some wet and wild weather, the roads will be treacherous and accidents liable to happen: in fact, there are probably several thousand "P Platers" out there who have never driven in such wet conditions: so be warned and be prepared!
As tens of thousands of parents drive their kids to and from school, there are bound to be delays and there may be a temptation to take a risk if you're running late: take my advise, arrive alive and arrive late if you have to.
It is a sad fact that most of the Quadriplegic Centers worldwide have been created as a result of motor vehicle accidents involving young people - mainly young men on motorbikes - and not all of them were at fault. One of the most inspirational guys I've ever met was a young Kiwi who had been sitting on his motorbike at an intersection and was "taken out" by driver who was rushing. The van driver walked away, but my friend suffered a broken neck and has since been a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic. He needs 24 hour assistance and every outing is a major operation: but then this is a very special guy and he still does live life to the full!
He has taught himself to sail in a specially adapted boat (plus entourage in following rubber ducky) and enjoyed it so much, he paid for another boat out of his compensation, so that he could take other spinal injured patients out on the water too! Not content with helping fellow quadriplegics, he also goes to Cambodia and sponsors a couple of orphanages up there as well: in other words, he still embraces life to the full despite his severe limitations.
The reason I mention all this is that researchers have developed a "Stimulator" for damaged spines that has allowed one person to regain some function below the damaged area of his spine: he can now move his lower limb and walk on a treadmill with assistance. This technology has huge potential because it is much more likely to help sufferers in the short term, as opposed to the more distant promises of Stem Cell therapy. But from my time as Director of the Quadriplegic Centre in Shenton Park, whilst most of these guys would love to walk again, what they would really like to regain control of is their bladder and bowels.
Loss of control of bladder and bowels means a much greater risk for wee infections and damage to the kidneys. Bowel care for spinal injured persons is not a pretty event; in fact it's quite humiliating for them, and it's something they face every day of their lives: to regain control of bladder and bowel is for them, Nirvana!
So as you drive in the wet today, be very aware that there is danger on the roads - if not directly to you, then to unseen others, especially cyclist and motor cyclists. Slow down, be patient, don't answer the phone and please don't txt - it can all wait until you have dropped your precious bundles off at school: or even better, after the stress of driving, treat yourself to a well deserved coffee and use your phones then.