Innovation Miracle Cell Laura Dominguez having physical therapyLaura Dominguez (shown) was the victim of a car accident that has left her paralyzed. She travels to Portugal to undergo a radical treatment. Adult stem cells are harvested from her nose, amplified, and then injected into her spine. The hope is that instead of forming scar tissue, the cells will renew and heal the spinal cord. Miracle Cell <http://www.pbs.org/cgi-registry/gol...tp://www.pbs.or g/wnet/innovation/episode6.html> goes to the front lines of regenerative medicine to follow spinal cord and heart patients undergoing stem cell treatments and to track their recovery in the months that follow. Such treatments are just the tip of the iceberg in a promising but controversial field that has the potential to revolutionize the way that medicine is practiced. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en <http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...nguez+portugal+ stem+cell> &lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=laura+dominguez+portugal+stem+cell "Miracle Cell" goes to the front line of these new procedures. With unprecedented and exclusive access, the program explores the current successes and future potential for stem cell therapy. We meet Dr. Carlos Lima and some of the six American spinal cord injury patients who have traveled to Portugal to undergo his experimental stem cell operation. A neurologist who heads a special spinal cord injury treatment team at the Egas Moniz Hospital in Lisbon, Dr. Lima oversees a group of surgeons in the harvesting of patients' stem cells from their noses. The cells are then transplanted into the sites of the spinal cord breaks. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/innovation/about_episode6.html
While this may work, its not likely to, since it pays not attention to the reason central nervous axons don't regenerate. Its a "flavor of the day" attempt - got a problem.... STEM CELLS. Reminds me of that comedy routine (...got a cough...ROBITUSSIN !...broken leg...pour some ROBITUSSIN on it) Anyway, there is a developmental reason why these axons don't regenerate and researchers are beginning to understand the molecular basis. As the fetus develops, its critically important that the proper axons connect to the proper areas in the brain. Otherwise your brain would say "move the left pinky" and your right leg would move. In the fetus, its initally like a shot gun approach. Many axons grow from the target tissues into the developing brain, the right ones connect and "live" the wrong ones regress. The proteins that cause the proper axons to grow and connect while inducing regression of the "wrong" ones are now known (at least in animals). The "regression" proteins tend to continue to be expressed throughout life, therefore suppressing regrowth of the axons. By blocking these proteins immediately after nerve crush injuries you can get the axons to regenerate. I am not sure yet they are at the point where the proper hook ups can be made, but I suspect this will ultimately be the cure for spinal cord injury - a mimicking of the fetal milieu - at least temporarily.
In a related note, a Boston researcher just reported the identification of fetal stem cells circulating in their mothers' blood stream. The cells were still detectable even years after birth. This brings up the hope of curing some diseases by harvesting and growing fetal stem cells from the patient her-self. Of course, men would be sh1t-out-of luck.
Can this sort of thing be stimulus-specific? For example, whenever someone, let's say me, gets a ball sent to him at the top of the box?