Clinical trials for the treatment of spinal cord injury: Not so simple

Abstract

The fast pace of research in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine is feeding hopes of the scientific community and the public that a new revolution in treatments is upon us. There are increasing numbers of examples of stem cell therapies that are effective in treating animal injuries and diseases. There is an expectation that stem cell transplantation will soon be commonplace in the human clinic, especially with the beginnings of clinical trials of embryonic stem cell transplantation for bone repair, spinal cord injury, macular degeneration, Stargardt's disease, and Batten's disease. This may be an appropriate point at which to review our experiences in moving from the lab to the clinic to initiate a Phase I clinical trial of autologous olfactory ensheathing cells in spinal cord injured humans.