Latest news with #HideyukiOkano
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Paralyzed Man Standing, Learning to Walk Again After Injection of Hacked Stem Cells
In the first clinical study of its kind, researchers at Tokyo's Keio University have developed a stem cell treatment that they say allowed a paralyzed man to stand on his own again following a spinal cord injury. As Japanese newspaper the Asahi Shimbun reports, the man is now learning how to walk through rehabilitation. The stem cell treatment involved the injection of roughly two million reprogrammed or induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which are created by hacking adult cells back into an embryonic-like state. The researchers turned these cells into neural precursor cells in a lab and then injected them into the site of patients' injuries. The goal is to have these cells then develop into neurons and glial cells, which support and protect neurons. In an announcement last week, the research team led by Keio University stem cell scientist Hideyuki Okano revealed that two out of four participants with a spinal cord injury saw improvements in their motor function. According to the researchers, no other serious adverse side effects were observed after a year of monitoring. But as experts told Science, it's too early to call the results definitive proof that the treatment works, let alone in all individuals with a spinal cord injury. For one, as Griffith University translational neuroscientist James St John told Science, it may be "very exciting for the field," but it'll take larger trials to establish whether the improvements were in fact the result of the treatment. There's also the possibility that the two patients recovered naturally. The results of the research also have yet to be peer-reviewed. Okano and his colleagues performed the first of the surgeries in late 2021, with the other three following in 2022 and 2023. The patients received the surgery between two to four weeks following the injury. As Science reports, other iPS cell treatments are being tested, including trials to restore vision by reversing damage to the cornea, and even reversing type 1 diabetes through the use of reprogrammed stem cells that can produce insulin. While questions remain, reversing paralysis from a spinal cord injury could be a big deal. In the US, roughly 18,000 people experience a traumatic spinal cord injury each year — and in addition to loss of motor control, they're also at risk of developing debilitating and even life-threatening secondary conditions. More on stem cell treatments: Woman's Own Stem Cells Appear to Reverse Her Type 1 Diabetes in First-Ever Procedure
Asharq Al-Awsat
22-03-2025
- Health
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Stem Cell Treatment Helped Improve Spinal Cord Injuries, Say Japan Scientists
A stem cell treatment helped improve the motor function of two out of four patients with a spinal cord injury in the first clinical study of its kind, Japanese scientists said. There is currently no effective treatment for paralysis caused by serious spinal cord injuries, which affect more than 150,000 patients in Japan alone, with 5,000 new cases each year. Researchers at Tokyo's Keio University are conducting their study using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) -- created by stimulating mature, already specialized, cells back into a juvenile state. They can then be prompted to mature into different kinds of cells, with the Keio researchers using iPS-derived cells of the neural stem. The university said on Friday that the motor function score for two patients improved after an operation to implant more than two million iPS-derived cells into a spinal cord. No serious adverse event was observed for all four cases after a year of monitoring, the university said. The research's main goal was to study the safety of injecting the cells. Public broadcaster NHK reported that one of the two was an elderly man who suffered the injury in an accident. He is now able to stand without support and has started practicing walking, NHK said. "We were able to achieve results in the world's first spinal cord treatment with iPS," Hideyuki Okano, a Keio professor who heads the research, said, according to NHK. Okano said the team hoped to move to a clinical trial that would be a step towards bringing the treatment to patients. The university received government approval for their initial study in 2019 and they carried out the first operation in 2022. Details of the patients remain confidential, but the team is focusing on people who were injured 14-28 days before the operation. The number of cells implanted was determined after safety experiments in animals.
Al Arabiya
22-03-2025
- Health
- Al Arabiya
Stem cell treatment helped improve spinal cord injuries: Japan scientists
A stem cell treatment helped improve the motor function of two out of four patients with a spinal cord injury in the first clinical study of its kind, Japanese scientists said. There is currently no effective treatment for paralysis caused by serious spinal cord injuries, which affect more than 150,000 patients in Japan alone, with 5,000 new cases each year. Researchers at Tokyo's Keio University are conducting their study using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) -- created by stimulating mature, already specialized, cells back into a juvenile state. They can then be prompted to mature into different kinds of cells, with the Keio researchers using iPS-derived cells of the neural stem. The university said on Friday that the motor function score for two patients improved after an operation to implant more than two million iPS-derived cells into a spinal cord. No serious adverse event was observed for all four cases after a year of monitoring, the university said. The research's main goal was to study the safety of injecting the cells. Public broadcaster NHK reported that one of the two was an elderly man who suffered the injury in an accident. He is now able to stand without support and has started practicing walking, NHK said. 'We were able to achieve results in the world's first spinal cord treatment with iPS,' Hideyuki Okano, a Keio professor who heads the research, said, according to NHK. Okano said the team hoped to move to a clinical trial that would be a step towards bringing the treatment to patients. The university received government approval for their initial study in 2019 and they carried out the first operation in 2022. Details of the patients remain confidential, but the team is focusing on people who were injured 14-28 days before the operation. The number of cells implanted was determined after safety experiments in animals.
Japan Times
22-03-2025
- Health
- Japan Times
Keio University team says stem cell treatment helped improve spine injuries
A stem cell treatment helped improve the motor function of 2 out of 4 patients with a spinal cord injury in the first clinical study of its kind, Japanese scientists said. There is currently no effective treatment for paralysis caused by serious spinal cord injuries, which affect more than 150,000 patients in Japan alone, with 5,000 new cases each year. Researchers at Tokyo's Keio University are conducting their study using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) — created by stimulating mature, already specialized, cells back into a juvenile state. They can then be prompted to mature into different kinds of cells, with the Keio researchers using iPS-derived cells of the neural stem. The university said on Friday that the motor function score for two patients improved after an operation to implant more than 2 million iPS-derived cells into a spinal cord. No serious adverse event was observed for all four cases after a year of monitoring, the university said. The research's main goal was to study the safety of injecting the cells. NHK reported that one of the two was an elderly man who suffered the injury in an accident. He is now able to stand without support and has started practicing walking, NHK said. "We were able to achieve results in the world's first spinal cord treatment with iPS," said Hideyuki Okano, a Keio professor who heads the research, according to NHK. Okano said the team hoped to move to a clinical trial that would be a step toward bringing the treatment to patients. The university received government approval for their initial study in 2019 and it carried out the first operation in 2022. Details of the patients remain confidential, but the team is focusing on people who were injured 14 to 28 days before the operation. The number of cells implanted was determined after safety experiments in animals.
