Paralysis Treatment

Four years ago, Darek Fidyka was stabbed in the back, leaving his spinal cord severed and his body from the chest down paralyzed. Now, after experimental treatment, Fidyka has regained some feeling in his lower body and is learning to walk again. The researchers are looking to use less invasive techniques in the future, because undergoing brain surgery to extract the olfactory tissue isn't anyone's idea of a good time, much less someone who is paralyzed. The BBC reports that over 100 microinjections of olfactory ensheathing cells were injected into the injury site, and strips of nerve tissue from Fidyka's ankle were laid across the gap in the spinal cord, in the hopes that the cells from the olfactory bulbs would encourage regrowth. A similar procedure was successfully tested on dogs in 2012. Now, 19 months after the operation, Fidyka has regained sensation in parts of his lower body, and after intense physical therapy is able to walk using a walker. As an added bonus, even with one olfactory bulb removed, Fidyka retained his sense of smell. He told the BBC:" I think it's realistic that one day I will become independent. What I have learned is that you must never give up but keep fighting, because some doors will open in life." The story is the subject of an episode of the BBC television program Panorama airing today at 10:35 pm in the UK. The study itself will be published in the journal Cell Transplantation at a later date, but the researchers acknowledge that, as exciting as this result is, there is still a lot more work to be done.