Spinal Cord Injury Stem Cell Treatment

Stem cells (conventional name) – is a unique group of cells, which are able to proliferate and give rise to the main cell components of all organs and tissues of a body. It is the immature cell which is able to self renew and to develop into specific cells of an organism. All cells of a human arise from the only cell that is formed at impregnation. When a human is adult the stem cells are localized primarily in bone marrow and in small quantities in all organs and tissues to provide restoration of the damaged organs and tissues.

Stem cells having received the signal about any disorder from the regulating system, home to the damaged organ. They can restore practically any damage turning into the cells that are necessary for the organism (bone, smooth muscle, liver, heart muscle and neural cells) and stimulating inner reserves of the organism to heal the damaged organ or tissue.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) stem cell treatment method that is used at NeuroVita clinic consists of autologous stem cells harvesting from peripheral blood, cryoconservation and their infusion into cerebrospinal fluid by lumbar puncture as well as direct cell transplantation into the tissue of brain or spinal cord. Initially (1986-2001) we used the cells from the dead bodies and those of the aborted human embryos. Starting from 2002 we have stopped this practice. Only the transplantation of autologous stem cells has allowed us to overcome the barriers of tissue compatibility, refuse from immunosuppressive therapy, to resolve ethical, legislative and religious issues that are linked with administrative limitations of clinical application of cell therapy and tissue engineering of brain and spinal cord. Since that time (2002-2008) this technology has been applied for the treatment of 360 patients (168 with spinal cord and brain injury).

Starting from September 2002 till May 2005 the specialists of the NeuroVita Clinic along with the researchers of RSMU and RCRC performed a great scientific research to develop a new cell technology to treat traumatic disease of spinal cord and brain. The project was monitored by the Research Board and Ethic Committee of RSMU. The results of the research were regularly reported to the Russian Federation Experts’ Board of Ministry of Health in order to introduce and implement new cell technologies (2003, 2005, 2006) and were supported and approved by the leading experts of the country. On July 1, 2005 the NeuroVita Clinic together with coauthors (RCRC of RAMS, RSMU) officially registered in the Registry of New Technologies of the Federal Service of Healthcare and Social Development Surveillance. Thus the Clinic has become the first medical institution both in Russia and in the world that has acquired official authorization to use stem cells for the therapy of neurologic diseases. Up to now there was only one medical indication to clinically administer human stem cell – oncohematology. For the first time in the medical practice of the world our Clinic received national approval not only for experimental works but also for clinical administration of stem cells to neurological patients. The unique feature of the Clinic is that it does not use donor, fetal and/or embryonic cell material and transplants only autologous (patient’s own) cell material.

The main direction of our research is the elaboration of new cell technologies and their application in neurology, neurosurgery and neurooncology. The principle specialization of NeuroVita Clinic is the treatment of neurotrauma (SCI especially) by pluripotent stem cells transplantation. During the period 2005-2008 38 neuroreconstructive and tissue engineering neurosurgical operations were made. 1768 stem cell transplantations were performed totally. Spinal cord injury patients prevail in the Clinic. To date we have proved that the efficacy of autologous stem cell therapy in minor SCI ranges from 45 to 70%. In this regard everything usually depends on the size of lesion, the level of injury and the years post injury. The best results were obtained in the patients with thoracic level of injury; 2-5 years post injury and incompleteness of SCI. We have revealed the high percentage of motor restoration (61.1%), considerable bowel and bladder control restoration (54%). Sensational disorders are more difficult to correct by this method of treatment. It is interesting that on average the efficacy of pluripotent cells transplantation alone is approximately equal tothe efficacy of intensive physical rehabilitation. These positive effects tend to summarize during the usage of both methods of SCI treatment. For more information about spinal cord injury stem cell treatment check the list of publications

in English (http://www.neurovita.ru/eng_publish_01.html)

in Russian (http://www.neurovita.ru/rus_publish_01.html)