DerbyCity Area Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
The Derby City Area Chapter of the N.S.C.I.A. is a membership organization for individuals with spinal cord injuries, their families, and health professionals. Founded in 1984 as a Charter Member of the N.S.C.I.A., it was incorporated under IRS Section 501 (c) 3 as a not for profit organization. The Board of Directors consists of the Officers, Past President and the Board Members At Large.
*** OFFICERS
PRESIDENT David Allgood - (502) 589-6620
VICE PRESIDENT Adam Ford - (502) 425-2206
TREASURER Tom Stokes- (502) 957-5865
LIAISON TO FRAZIER INSTITUTE Jill Farmer
FUNDRAISING CHAIR Betty Perry—(502) 647-0368
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY/WEB MASTER Michael Feger- (502) 647-0368
PAST PRESIDENT Adam Ford- (502) 425-2206
BOARD MEMBERS AT LARGE-
Mike Perry Kelly Young
NSCIA DERBY CITY CHAPTER NEWSLETTER
Editor- Barbara Davis Contributor- David Allgood
Visit Our Website at www.DerbyCitySpinalCord.org
The Derby City Area Chapter newsletter is brought to you through the generous support of Frazier Rehab Institute.
STUDY ESTABLISHES SAFETY, CONT’D
important step in that direction.” In 2005, Kierstead’s lab was the first to coax human embryonic stem cells to become highly pure specialized cells known as oligodendrocytes. These cells are the building blocks of Myelin, which acts as insulation for nerve fibers and is critical for maintenance of electrical conduction in the Central Nervous System. When myelin is stripped away through disease or injury, paralysis can occur. In this study, as in the original one, when the rats suffering from severe spinal cord injury were injected with the oligodendrocytes seven days after injury, the cells migrated to the appropriate sites within the spinal cord and wrapped around the damaged neurons, forming new myelin tissue.
By contrast, the rats who were only mildly impaired showed no increase or decrease in myelin generation, and no change in their walking ability after transplantation. According to Keirstad, the injury was so minor that no loss of myelin occurred. Therefore, a treatment based on remyelination would have no effect and the animals recovered Motor function on their own. More importantly, while the treatment did not help with the Functional recovery, it did not impair it. Upon further examination, the scientist found no damage to tissues surrounding the spinal cord indicating that the transplantation had not caused any damage to the animals.
“Our biggest safety concern was that in the case of severe injury, any harm the stem cell-derived treatment could cause would be masked by the injury itself,” Keirstead said. “In this study, we can see in animals that are only slightly injured that the transplantation does not cause visible harm and the injury is not hiding any damage the cells may have caused to the spinal cord or surrounding tissue.”
Keirstead is working with Geron Corp. to bring this treatment for acute spinal cord injury into Phase I clinical trials within the next year.
Frank Cloutier, Monica Siegenthaler and Gabriel Nistor collaborated on the study, which was supported by Geron Corp.; a UC Discovery Grant; the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Fund of California; Research for Cure; and individual donations to the Reeve-Irvine Research Center.
UCI is a premier center for stem cell research in California. The University announced last week that it had received a $10 million gift from Bill and Sue Gross in support of stem cell research, including matching funds to construct an $80 million dollar Stem Cell Research Center Facility.
