2017/02/17
Keio University School of Medicine
The Department of Physiology (Professor Hideyuki Okano) and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery (Professor Masaya Nakamura) at the Keio University School of Medicine have demonstrated the efficacy of neural stem cell transplantation for spinal cord injury in aged mice and have successfully elucidated a new pathology.
In recent years, spinal cord injuries in the elderly have been increasing worldwide, and in Japan, this trend has made the establishment of effective treatments an urgent issue. Although the efficacy of neural stem cell transplantation for spinal cord injury has already been proven, its effectiveness in elderly patients with spinal cord injury had not been studied. This study conducted a detailed investigation into the matter.
The clinical application of transplanting human iPS cell-derived neural stem cells for spinal cord injury is expected to be realized in the near future. These results suggest that neural stem cell transplantation therapy for spinal cord injury could become an effective treatment for many patients, including the elderly.
The results of this research were published in the online edition of "Stem Cell Reports" at 12:00 p.m. on February 16, 2017 (U.S. Eastern Time).
For the full press release, please see below.