London: A paralysed Bulgarian man can walk again after receiving revolutionary treatment in Poland in a breakthrough, hailed by one of the British scientists as “more impressive than a man walking on the Moon”.
Darek Fidyka was paralysed from the chest down following a knife attack in 2010, but can now walk using a frame after receiving treatment in which the nerve cells from his nose were transplanted into his severed spinal column, according to research published in the journal Cell Transplantation on Tuesday.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” said the 40-year-oldpatient, who is now recovering at the Akron Neuro-Rehabilitation Center in Wroclaw, told BBC’s Panorama programme.
Specialist Olfactory Ensheathing Cells (OECs), which form part of the sense of smell, were used in the treatment as they are pathway cells, enabling nearby nerve fibres to be continually regenerated.
The treatment involved two operations. One of the patient’s olfactory bulbs was removed before transplanting cultured cells into the spinal cord.
Scientists think that the cells, implanted above and below the injury, enabled damaged fibres to reconnect. “Nerve fibres can grow back and restore function, provided we give them a bridge,” said Geoff Raisman, chair of neural regeneration at University College London’s Institute of Neurology, who led the British research team.
