LONDON:
A paralysed Bulgarian man can walk again after receiving revolutionary treatment in Poland in a breakthrough hailed by one of the British scientists responsible 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 nerve cells from his nose were transplanted into his severed spinal column, according to research published in the journal Cell Transplantation on Tuesday.
Fidyka, 40, is believed to be the first person in the world to recover from such chronic injuries, in an achievement hailed as more impressive than putting a man on the Moon.
“When there’s nothing, you can’t feel almost half of your body. You’re helpless, lost,” the patient, who is now recovering at the Akron Neuro-Rehabilitation Center in Wroclaw, told BBC’s Panorama programme.
“When it begins to come back, you feel you’ve started your life all over again, as if you are reborn. It’s an incredible feeling, difficult to describe,” he said.
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.
Pawel Tabakow, consultant neurosurgeon at Wroclaw University, led a team of surgeons in removing one of the patient’s olfactory bulbs before transplanting cultured cells into the spinal cord.
Scientists think that the cells, implanted above and below the injury, enabled damaged fibres to reconnect.
“What we’ve done is establish a principle, nerve fibres can grow back and restore function, provided we give them a bridge,” explained Geoff Raisman, chair of neural regeneration at University College London’s Institute of Neurology, who led the British research team working on the joint project.
“To me, this is more impressive than a man walking on the moon. I believe this is the moment when paralysis can be reversed.”
Tabakow said it was “amazing to see how regeneration of the spinal cord, something that was thought impossible for many years, is becoming a reality”.
Scientists now plan to hold clinical trials on 10 patients in Britain and Poland.
Fidyka suffered damage similar to that of actor Christopher Reeve, whose spine was severed from his skull after he fell off a horse in 1995.
While some victims of partial spinal injury have recovered, a complete break was generally assumed to be irreparable.
The research, funded by the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation and UK Stem Cell Foundation, will be featured in a Panorama programme on BBC 1 tonight.
Professor Raisman, whose work is also published in the journal Cell Transplantation today, said: “[Mr Fidyka] can get around with a walker and he’s been able to resume much of his original life, including driving a car. He’s not dancing, but he’s absolutely delighted.”
He continued: “The number of patients who are completely paralysed is enormous. There are millions of them in the world. If we can convince the global neurosurgeon community that this works then it will develop very rapidly indeed.”
Dr Tabakow said: “We estimated that without this treatment, our patient’s recovery chances were less than 1 per cent. However, we observed a gradual recovery of both sensory and motor function that began four months after the surgery.”
Professor Raisman said: “The observed wisdom is that the central nervous system cannot regenerate damaged connections. I’ve never believed that.”
He stressed that what had been achieved was a leap forward beyond “plasticity” — the rewiring of the remaining connections. He compared that method to motorists finding other routes around a closed section of motorway, adding: “What we’re doing is repairing the motorway.”
The Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation was founded by Briton David Nicholls after his son Daniel was paralysed in a swimming accident at the age of 18. He said: “I promised Dan that I would not give up until a cure had been found. Professor Raisman and Dr Tabakow’s breakthrough marks the first step.”