Paraplegic dogs have been able to walk again after treatment using cells from their noses in a “spectacular” study that offers hope to human patients with spinal cord injuries.
Researchers said that the dramatic result was the most encouraging advance in the field for years. Trials in humans are under way and experts said they believed that the technique would become an important therapy, even as they cautioned that it would not be a “magic bullet” to cure spinal injury.
While many hopes for regenerative medicine have been pinned on stem cells, scientists have long known that some mature cells that occur naturally within the body can help nerve fibres to repair themselves. Olfactory ensheathing cells, which cover nerves conveying smells to the brain, have