Study: Stem Cells Helped Paralyzed Rats

A University of Louisville study reportedly showed paralyzed rates were helped by embryonic stem cells and the therapy might also benefit humans.

Researchers reporting in the Journal of Neuroscience said genetically engineered stem cells helped paralyzed rats move their legs again. The rats’ spinal cords, partially severed in the lab, began to heal after receiving stem-cell grafts from rat embryos, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported Tuesday.

This type of approach definitely has applicability to human injury, said Scott Whittemore, scientific director of the university’s Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center and a lead researcher on the stem-cell project.

A $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will help Louisville scientists continue to pursue that goal, Whittemore told the Courier-Journal.