January 28, 2009, 9:54 am

Stem Cell Trial Approved

The New York Times reported on January 23, 2008 that the federal government is allowing Geron to conduct the world’s first test of human embryonic stem cell therapy in people.  The clinical trial will focus on 8 to 10 people with severe spinal cord injuries.  According to the article:

“The cells will be injected into the spinal cord at the injury site 7 to 14 days after the injury occurs, because there is evidence the therapy will not work for much older injuries.

The study is a so-called Phase I trial, aimed mainly at testing the safety of the therapy. There would still be years of testing and many hurdles to overcome before the treatment would become routinely available to patients.

There is controversy surrounding this trial, as some researchers fear that if the therapy proves unsafe or doesn’t work, that it may set the field back for several years.  Dr Kessler feels that this particular therapy is not an ideal candidate for the first trial, as the therapy that worked moderately well in injured animals might not work so well in humans.

Click here to read the full article in the New York Times

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January 26, 2009, 9:33 am

The Brain Injury Zeitgeist

After recent trips to Washington DC and Iowa, I’m sharpening my eye on the most pressing issues in brain injury today. Based on a few conversations I’ve had with industry professionals (and at the TBI-ROC advisory group), I think we–as a nation–have some pretty serious gaping holes that we can now begin to address.

One of the most under-acknowledged demographics in brain injury care involve people who have persistent medical complications following their injury AND who suffer resulting behavioral problems. Very few facilities in the country can manage a tough behavior and a medically intensive program at the same time. There’s certainly room for a new specialty here.

Another gaping hole in service involves adults who experience brain injury later in life and meet with a slew of aging-related problems. In most cases, the person is shrugged off as “unrehabable” but perhaps our definitions and goals need to be re-evaluated for such a patient.

In the upcoming weeks, Dr. Gainer will be presenting a talk in Iowa the centers on issues throughout a person’s lifespan–and the talk should encourage discussion on the above topics. Look for that presentation to be available soon online.

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