Patients who have suffered a spinal cord personal injury in an auto accident may experience some improvement in their symptoms with the help of stem cell therapy using cells from their own fat.
Those findings come from a new study conducted by researchers at the Mayo Clinic. The findings of the study were published in the journal Nature Communications. The study was conducted on 10 patients who had suffered a spinal cord personal injury. The researchers found in the study that the patients were able to recover some degree of sensation and movement in the areas affected by their spinal injury.
The researchers extracted stem cells from fat from the patients’ thigh and abdomen areas. They expanded these stem cells to 100 million cells which were then injected into the affected areas. The researchers found that 7 out of the 10 patients showed improvement in their symptoms, including two out of three patients who had zero or minimal sensation below the site of their spinal cord injury. Typically, only 5% of such patients manage to recover any kind of sensation or movement in their affected areas. Moreover, the researchers say that there were no significant side effects as a result of the stem cell therapy.
All of the patients who participated in the study had suffered spinal cord personal injuries as a result of car accidents or some other kind of significant trauma. Spinal cord injuries typically result when there has been a significant trauma or jolt or blow to the spinal cord. These personal injuries can result in severe consequences including the loss of sensation and movement in the area around the injury as well as weakness and impairment of body functions. Paralysis is a common consequence of a spinal cord injury, and can leave a person restricted in movement and mobility. Apart from paralysis, other common symptoms of a spinal cord injury can include numbness and tingling in the hands and feet, respiratory difficulties as well as loss of bladder and bowel control. Spinal cord injury can lead to muscular weakness, and loss of sexual function.
The myriad range of symptoms associated with spinal cord injury makes these some of the most difficult injuries to live with. The consequences of these injuries can be difficult to handle not just for the patient but also for spouses, family members and caregivers.
While earlier studies have long held that there is no complete cure for a spinal injury, many recent studies have found that it is possible to bring about significant improvements in patient symptoms, using various forms of therapy and symptom management techniques.
The Atlanta car accident lawyers at Katz Personal Injury Lawyers are dedicated to the representation of persons who have suffered injuries in car accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across the state of Georgia. If you or a loved one have suffered spinal injuries in a car accident, talk to an attorney at our firm and discuss your legal options for a claim for damages. A claim must account for not just the short term medical expenses that you may be expected to bear soon after the accident, but also long – term hospitalization and medical costs, cost of mobility aids and home improvements, as well as long term income loss as a result of the injury.