
First Ever Quadriplegic Treated with Stem Cells Regains Upper Body Motor Control - sua_3000
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/first-ever-quadriplegic-treated-stem-cells-regains-motor-control-upper-body/
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WheelsAtLarge
This is great news but I would be a bit cautious about it. I love the idea
that stem cell therapy can cure spinal cord injuries but I know for a fact
that spinal cord injuries are unpredictable as to what the long term impact
will be.

Professionals in the field know that people with these injuries can regain
mobility months and years after the accident.

I know of a few extreme cases where individuals were told they would never
walk but within a few months were able to walk out of the hospital.There are
other more common cases where movement to limbs increased in time.

I point this out not to throw water at the cure but it's a bit premature to
celebrate and get people's hopes up without knowing the reality of the
treatment.

I love the idea but one person does not prove a cure. I sincerely hope that
Kris' improvement continues and that the therapy is as good as it's hoped.

The Christphere Reeves foundation has a great area on the subject.

[https://www.christopherreeve.org/research/reeve-stem-cell-
re...](https://www.christopherreeve.org/research/reeve-stem-cell-research)

~~~
stenl
Here's a press release from the company:
[http://asteriasbiotherapeutics.com/asterias-
biotherapeutics-...](http://asteriasbiotherapeutics.com/asterias-
biotherapeutics-announces-positive-efficacy-data-in-patients-with-complete-
cervical-spinal-cord-injuries-treated-with-ast-opc1/) They're doing a dosing
study, with escalating number of cells injected. Results are promising, but
the study includes no controls, so there is no way to know if the cell-based
treatment is better than no treatment.

The current study is open-label (i.e. not blinded) single-arm (no controls).
Once they establish the right dose, they will need to do a double-blind
randomized controlled study to find out if it works.

~~~
JshWright
Blinding isn't especially important for a procedure like this. An RCT would be
a sufficiently strong study design, in my opinion.

~~~
robbiep
If you were going to RCT, in this instance, why would you not blind? Sham
injections - it's a no brainer. Why get the second best level of evidence if
you can get the best?

~~~
Darwin226
It's a needle to the spine...

~~~
Noseshine
Hmm... maybe use people who require surgery/anesthesia and just tell them they
were injected? I've taken a few courses on clinical trial design just out of
curiosity, but now I find I can't really say anything substantial about my own
idea. Back to the courses?

~~~
JshWright
Sham surgery is a thing (there have been some interesting studies looking at
the efficacy of knee surgery compared with sham surgery for a variety of
common knee issues...)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_pAdg8Y70Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_pAdg8Y70Y)

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toodlebunions
Potentially amazing news

Here's the direct Link minus the weird reblog of press release

[http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/paralyzed-man-
regain...](http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/paralyzed-man-regains-use-
of-arms-and-hands-after-experimental-stem-cell-therapy-at-keck-hospital-of-
usc-300323407.html)

~~~
tunap
And the source, I believe verbatim...

[https://news.usc.edu/107047/experimental-stem-cell-
therapy-h...](https://news.usc.edu/107047/experimental-stem-cell-therapy-
helps-paralyzed-man-regains-use-of-arms-and-hands/)

~~~
tominous
And the ClinicalTrials.gov record:
[https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02302157](https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02302157)

~~~
happyslobro
And this video shows how the procedure is performed, and clearly demonstrates
its effectiveness:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNJi0zfodI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNJi0zfodI)

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Teever
> Once Kris made the decision to pursue enrollment in the study, dozens of
> doctors, nurses, rehabilitation specialists and others sprang into action.
> Because he would need to provide voice confirmation of his desire to
> participate in the study, Kris had to be able to breathe without a
> ventilator.

That is an interesting requirement. I don't think it's necessary. morse code
via blinking isn't sufficient?

~~~
arkades
I've never seen a voiced-consent requirement before... and it makes absolutely
no ethical sense, either.

~~~
jacalata
Perhaps they actually mean that patients must be capable of breathing
independently to enroll in the study, and that voiced consent is the metric
used?

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mercurialshark
This is incredible. A non-speculative, non-hypothetical-petri-dish-stem-cell-
potential announcement, but tangible, life altering progress that's happening
now.

I hope they continue with the initiative and other institutions follow their
lead soon if it proves successful.

~~~
throwanem
Likewise! I think this is the first time all year I've been moved to deploy
the phrase "Welcome to the world of the future" without grim irony. Truly
amazing! I hope his recovery proceeds apace and without setback.

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dia80
I'm really pleased for this guy and hope he can continue to make progress.

Unfortunately the information content of these events is at best modest. After
spinal cord injury you can get "spinal shock" which can last for a month or
two. When it wears off you can recover a lot of previously lost function. As
other comments point out bigger trials will be required to prove any efficacy.

Also there are many things in development to help acute spinal cord injury
(some of which are FDA devices) but chronic SCI is a much thornier and
challenging problem.

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ericjang
This is really cool! Can anyone comment on what the state of art is on
restoring motor function in paralyzed animals (i.e. rats, mice) ?

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ridruejo
This is fantastic news. I can't but think of the many people that have
contemplated assisted suicide that were in his position. This should give them
hope.

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benjismith
That's the best thing I've heard all day!

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WalterBright
I'm amazed nobody has tried this before. In any case, it's wonderful news.

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tomcam
All that and he survived living in Bakersfield

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loteck
San Diego man seeking help with effects of stroke gets stem cell treatments
that leave him partially paralyzed and with mysterious tumor.

[http://www.kpbs.org/news/2016/sep/20/patients-san-diego-
stem...](http://www.kpbs.org/news/2016/sep/20/patients-san-diego-stem-cell-
companies-costly-unpr/)

~~~
stormbrew
Perhaps more accurately: San Diego man makes incredibly risky gamble on
untested treatment and bad things happen. Given that, I'm curious what your
point is here? This is a multiphase clinical trial. That was someone going to
another country to bypass the very safety measures this trial is a part of.

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imaginenore
Hope you don't hate me for kind of a joke comment, but it's extremely
relevant:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRtlkcQ6brE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRtlkcQ6brE)

