Disease Focus: Spinal Cord Injury
Evaluation of Safety and Preliminary Efficacy of Escalating Doses of GRNOPC1 in Subacute Spinal Cord Injury
The proposed project is designed to assess the safety and preliminary activity of escalating doses of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cells for treatment of spinal cord injury. Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells have two important functions: they produce neurotrophic factors which stimulate the survival and growth of neurons (nerve cells) after injury, and […]
Repair of Conus Medullaris/Cauda Equina Injury using Human ES Cell-Derived Motor Neurons
Injuries to the spinal cord commonly result from motor vehicle accidents, traumatic falls, diving, surfing, skiing, and snowboarding accidents, other forms of sports injuries, as well as from gunshot injuries in victims of violent crimes. Injuries to the anatomically lowest part of the spinal cord, the lumbosacral portion and its associated nerve roots commonly cause […]
Repair of Conus Medullaris/Cauda Equina Injury using Human ES Cell-Derived Motor Neurons
Injuries to the spinal cord commonly result from motor vehicle accidents, traumatic falls, diving, surfing, skiing, and snowboarding accidents, other forms of sports injuries, as well as from gunshot injuries in victims of violent crimes. Injuries to the anatomically lowest part of the spinal cord, the lumbosacral portion and its associated nerve roots commonly cause […]
Molecular Imaging for Stem Cell Science and Clinical Application
Stem cells offer tremendous potential to treat previously intractable diseases. The clinical translation of these therapies, however, presents unique challenges. One challenge is the absence of robust methods to monitor cell location and fate after delivery to the body. The delivery and biological distribution of stem cells over time can be much less predictable compared […]
Developing a regeneration-based functional restoration treatment for spinal cord injury
One of the most exciting and challenging frontiers in neuroscience and medicine is to repair traumatic injuries to the central nervous system (CNS). Most spinal cord and head injuries result in devastating paralyses, yet very limited clinical intervention is currently available to restore the lost abilities. Traumatic injuries of the spine cause fractures and compression […]
Induction of immune tolerance after spinal grafting of human ES-derived neural precursors
Previous clinical studies have shown that grafting of human fetal brain tissue into the CNS of adult recipients can be associated with long-term (more then 10 years) graft survival even after immunosuppression is terminated. These clinical data represent in part the scientific base for the CNS to be designated as an immune privilege site, i.e., […]
hESC-Derived Motor Neurons For the Treatment of Cervical Spinal Cord Injury
Cervical spinal cord injuries result in a loss of upper limb function because the cells within the spinal cord that control upper limb muscles are destroyed. The goal of this research program is to create a renewable human source of these cells, to restore upper limb function in both acute and chronic spinal cord injuries. […]
Spinal ischemic paraplegia: modulation by human embryonic stem cell implant.
schemia-induced paraplegia often combined with a qualitatively defined increase in muscle tone (i.e. spasticity and rigidity) is a serious complication associated with a temporary aortic cross-clamping ( a surgical procedure to repair an aortic aneurysm). In addition to spinal ischemic injury-induced spasticity and rigidity a significant population of patients with traumatic spinal injury develop a […]
Genetic manipulation of human embryonic stem cells and its application in studying CNS development and repair
The advent of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) has offered enormous potential for regenerative medicine and for basic understanding of human biology. On the one hand, hESCs can be turned into many different cell types in culture dish, and specific cell types derived from hESCs offer an almost infinite source for cellular replacement therapies. This […]
New Chemokine-Derived Therapeutics Targeting Stem Cell Migration
This proposal describes a sharply-focused, timely, and rigorous effort to develop new therapies for the treatment of injuries of the Central Nervous System (CNS). The underlying hypothesis for this proposal is that chemokines and their receptors (particularly those involved in inflammatory cascades) actually play important roles in mediating the directed migration of human neural stem […]