Spinal cord injury research triggering an immune system response. Animal studies with injection of bone marrow stem cells have shown improvement in motor function; however not so in a human trial a year post-injury. More trials are underway. Adipose and umbilical tissue stem cells need further study before human trials can be performed, but two Korean studies were begun to investigate adipose cells in SCI patients. Transplantation of tissues such as olfactory ensheathing cells from the olfactory bulbs has been shown to produce beneficial effects in spinal cord injured rats. Trials have also begun to show success when olfactory ensheathing cells are transplanted into
Spinal cord injury research humans with severed spinal cords. People have recovered sensation, use of formerly paralysed muscles, and bladder and bowel function after the surgeries, eg Darek Fidyka. Japanese researchers in 2006 discovered that adding certain transcription factors to cells caused them to be able to differentiate again. This way a patient's own tissues could be used, reducing the chance of transplant rejection. Recent approaches have used various engineering techniques to improve spinal cord injury repair. Use of biomaterials is an engineering approach to SCI treatment that can be combined with stem cell transplantation. They can help deliver cells to the injured area