Paralysis Treatment

Four years ago, Darek Fidyka was stabbed in the back, leaving his spinal cord severed, and his body from the chest down paralysed. 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 paralysed. The BBC reports that over 100 microinjections of olfactory ensheathing cells were injected into the injury site, and strips of nerve tissue from Fidyka 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 had been 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.