Paraplegia quite challenging at first for those with a spinal cord injury (SCI). With the aid of physiotherapists and occupational therapists, individuals with an SCI can learn new skills and adapt previous ones to maximize independence, often living independently within the community. Olfactory ensheathing cells (OEC) have been transplanted with success into the spinal cord of Polish man named Darek Fidyka, who was the victim of a knife attack that left him paraplegic in 2010. In 2014, Fidyka underwent pioneering spinal surgery that used nerve grafts, from his ankle, to 'bridge the gap' in his severed spinal cord and OEC's to
Spinal cord injury research injured spinal cord will replace killed neurons and oligodendrocytes and secrete factors that support growth. However they may fail to differentiate into neurons when transplanted, either remaining undifferentiated or becoming glia. A phase I/II clinical trials implanting NSCs into humans with SCI began in 2011 and ended in June 2015. Mesenchymal stem cells do not need to come from fetuses, so avoid difficulties around ethics; they come from tissues including bone marrow, adipose tissue, the umbilical cord. They are thought to be pluripotent. Unlike other types of stem cells, mesenchymal cells do not present the threat of tumor formation or