WITHIN THE UNITED States, no clinical trials using stem cells for the treatment of spinal cord injury have been approved. This is not altogether surprising, as the field of stem cell research is still in its youth. With that said, there are several promising projects that are preparing to enter the clinical study phase.

Physiologically speaking, spinal cord trauma differs from other types of central nervous system injuries. Instead of cell bodies (as in the brain), the spine is predominantly composed of long axon tracts. As such, spinal cord damage results in loss of sensory, motor, or autonomie function. More specifically, damage to the spinal cord prevents transmission of sensory information to the brain, as well as transmission of motor and autonomie commands from the brain ...