Excerpted from the ariticle, "A Rehab Revolution," Stroke Connection Magazine, September/October 2004
Jump to 2006 Update

Animal studies of stem cell implants have also been initiated. Since stem cells can regenerate and change into other types of cells, researchers are hoping they will stimulate other cells to grow in the brain and form new connections among cells to help restore motor function.

Stem cell implants have only been studied in humans at the University of Pittsburgh under Dr. Douglas Kondzioloka. (The American Heart Association supports adult stem cell research but doesn’t fund any research involving stem cells derived from human embryonic or fetal tissue.)

The risk of treatment in humans and animals is that both humans and animals need an immunosuppressant to keep their bodies from rejecting cells taken from other animals. A breakthrough in research has been to remove cells from bone marrow in rats and re-inject them in the same rats’ brain cells. The rats don’t reject these cells like they do foreign cell injections.

Scientists hope neural growth factors and stem cell injections may be used successfully alongside physical therapy to promote recovery from stroke. 

2006 Update

The interest in stem cells has grown phenomenally since our first article. In this type of therapy, large numbers of a single type of cell will be given to patients to help the injured brain cells heal better. “Stem cells” are the best-known of these implanted cells, but stem cell research is highly restricted in the United States. Because of this, researchers are investigating other types, such as bone marrow cells taken from adults and grown in test tubes. Another type of cell being investigated is modified tumor cells.

Dr. Douglas Kondziolka, who was mentioned in the 2004 article, has now successfully implanted tumor-derived stem cells into human subjects. Although the cells did not provide the patients with any advantage, the procedure showed that cells can be implanted directly into the brain.

Another method introduces stem cells intravenously. When these cells are introduced into the body, they are preferentially attracted to sites of injury, and once there they appear to transform into a pharmacy and begin producing growth factors. Subjects are given one type of cell, and then it changes to another cell when it gets to the point of injury.

Dr. Michael Chopp at the Henry Ford Hospital has made important discoveries in this field, but so far only in lab animals. The only studies involving humans are at the beginning stages of investigation and no results are available.