Kristopher Boesen may not be a man that you have heard of before but after you hear his story, it may be a name you don’t forget. He had lost control of his car and when he woke up in the hospital, he was paralyzed from the neck down. That life-changing moment led to the news that the doctors gave to his family, that he would never be able to use the rest of his body again.
Kris had the opportunity to use a life-changing procedure that had not been tried before. It involves stem cells, that “have the capability to repair injured nervous tissue through replacement of damaged cells.” Although it was experimental and did not have any guarantees attached to it, they felt that the risk was well worth the effort put forth.
Dr. Liu started the process in April by injecting 10 million AST-OPC1 cells into Kris’ cervical spinal cord. Dr. Liu gave the following explanation:
“Typically, spinal cord injury patients undergo surgery that stabilizes the spine but does very little to restore motor or sensory function. With this study, we are testing procedure that may improve neurological function, which could mean the difference between being permanently paralyzed and being able to use one’s arms and hands. Restoring that level of function could significantly improve the daily lives of patients with severe spinal injuries.”
What Were the Results?
After three weeks of therapy, Chris began to show some improvement and after only 2 months, he was able to write his name, answer the phone and operate his wheelchair. During that time, significant improvements were seen in his motor functions, which involve signals sent between the brain and muscle groups.
Thanks to the treatment, Kris was able to recover 2 spinal cord levels and it increased his ability to move. In essence, it was the difference between not being able to move at all and being able to move slightly. He began to regain his independence.
Kris said: “All I’ve wanted from the beginning was a fighting chance…But if there’s an opportunity for me to walk again, then heck yeah! I want to do anything possible to do that.”
A Look toward the Future
The doctors are unable to make promises that further improvements will be seen in Kris’s condition. It does give them the opportunity to experiment with stem cell research and improve the likelihood of treating paralysis fully.
Thanks to this procedure, giant leaps have been made forward in the attempt to solve paralysis. Dr. Liu and his team are certain to keep researching stem cells and to move forward with the process.
Not only can stem cells provide a solution for paralysis, they may be able to solve a number of other health issues as well. Those issues can include problems such as Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and cancer.
Via: The Hearty Soul
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