Researchers at Tel Aviv university's Sagol Centre for Regenerative Biotechnology have engineered 3D human spinal cord tissues and successfully used them to cure paralysis in lab tests.
The scientists managed to restore the ability to walk in 80% of the animals treated in the trials which used pioneering genetic engineering technology. Professor Tal Dvir, who lead the study said: "The model animals underwent a rapid rehabilitation process, at the end of which they could walk quite well. This is the first instance in the world in which implanted engineered human tissues have generated recovery in an animal model for long-term chronic paralysis – which is the most relevant model for paralysis treatments in humans.
"There are millions of people around the world who are paralyzed due to spinal injury, and there is still no effective treatment for their condition. Individuals injured at a very young age are destined to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of their lives, bearing all the social, financial, and health-related costs of paralysis.
"Our goal is to produce personalized spinal cord implants for every paralyzed person, enabling regeneration of the damaged tissue with no risk of rejection."
