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
Cord lining as SSEA-4, Oct-4, SOX2 and Nanog. They also express p63, a specific marker of epithelial progenitor cells. In-vitro organotypic culture of cord lining EpSC using the air-liquid interface method resulted in stratified epithelium being formed with expression of various forms of cytokeratins. Furthermore, due to their similarity in terms of phenotypic expression of keratins compared to normal human epidermal keratinocytes, cord lining EpSC have the potential to be an alternative source of cells for skin repair and regeneration. Animal studies on cord lining EpSC have shown that genetic modifications using the proinsulin gene allowed transplanted stem cells to lower blood