A paralysed 18 year old, Jacki Rabon, who was injured in a car accident in August 2003, is now able to walk with braces six months after being treated with her own nasal adult stem cells. The operation took place at Hospital Egaz Moniz in Lisbon in October 2005 and involved taking olfactory tissue from the upper nasal cavity and transplanting the cells into the patient.
The Portuguese neurologist and adult stem cell pioneer, Dr Carlos Lima, who treated her and whose surgery has benefited over 45 paralysed patients, since it was developed in 2002, said that the long-term benefits and possible delayed side effects of the procedure need to be documented, but even the smallest amount of restored function can have profound benefits for paralysed patients.
Dr. Lima is collaborating with physicians at the Detroit Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan and Wayne State University School of Medicine to further develop, advance, and implement this promising surgical procedure.
Rehabilitiation Institute of Michigan
