Stem Cell Therapy for Spinal Cord Repair: A Current Status Report By

The hope of medical research is that one day the world’s worst illnesses and most debilitating injuries will be cured. Spinal cord injury (SCI) affects around 2.5 million people worldwide with an estimated 130 000 incidences occurring each year (Thuret et al., 2006). In the past prognosis for SCI patients was poor, but with advances in technology and scientific research SCI patients now reach a normal life expectancy, albeit living with a severely reduced quality of life. As such, there has been a wave of interest investigating the long-term treatment and management options. As the number of individuals with SCI increases, the social and economic implications this has on the British health care system is huge, with an estimat