Quadriplegia: A stem cell therapy has helped aid the recovery process says a quadriplegic man who underwent the experimental stem cell procedure.
James Mason began 2013 living an ordinary life, little did he know that it would be a year that would change his life forever.
On 9th April 2013 James had been drinking and became involved in an argument. To stop him getting in a car his step father, Bob Gambuti, grabbed on to him and they fell. The fall resulted in James breaking his neck, resulting in spinal injuries so severe that the accident would leave him with quadriplegia and only superficial movement in his arms.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for quadriplegia and currently there is no treatment to repair damage caused to a spinal cord or regenerate spinal cord tissue.
Bob wanted to help James in his recovery. Not only did he become a full time carer for James but he also began researching experimental treatments which could aid James in his recovery. Bob found an experimental stem cell therapy at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. The spinal cord stem cell therapy would include the removal of James’ vertebra and an injection into the damaged spinal cord. With only 6 places on the trial for patients with the most severe cases of spinal injury, James was accepted onto the study.
The surgery was performed by Dr Arthur Jenkins, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Orthopaedic Surgery at Mount Sinai. The surgery took just four hours in his experienced hands. Although Dr. Jenkins is not connected to Stem Cells Inc., he has continued to closely monitor James after the procedure.
Experimental Stem Cell Therapy for Quadriplegia Spinal Cord Injury “worked”.
“My two cents is it worked, that this actually changed his neurological recovery and function, that his functional improvement is from the stem cells that were injected,” says Dr Jenkins.
Dr Jenkins isn’t alone, James also attributes the stem cell procedure to accelerating improvements in his condition. Just three months after the experimental stem cell therapy James reported how his grip had improved, his wrist was stronger, and how his body temperature was better regulated. Again, six months after the surgery and the improvements James was experiencing continued to develop. James not only reported that he had sensation in his feet but that there was some movement occurring in his hips.
James was not the only participant in the trial to experience these improvements, of the 6 patients who took part in the study four have experienced improvements in their motor strength and function.
For James the improvements he has experienced thanks to the surgery are just the beginning. “It feels great, but I’m just ready to get to the next goal,” he says.
Read more:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/experimental-procedure-aimed-at-repairing-spinal-cord-shows-promise/
