Will new stem cell research ultimately lead to a pathway toward spinal cord repair? New research shows we are still a very long way off but the initially signs are encouraging.

Scientists have carried out studies involving human stem cells and injured rats. This new stem cell research has been published in Science Translational Medicine, and focuses on V2a interneurons and the cervical spinal cord.

The team from Gladstone Institutes and Drexel University injected a million human neurons into the neck injury cavities of rats one week after injury was sustained. 

Engineered spinal interneurons, grown from human stem cells, survived inside the injured rats, took input from the brainstem and passed signals on to the diaphragm.

The study found that human stem cell-derived spinal interneurons can integrate into damaged neural networks in rats and improve breathing-related motor function after a traumatic spinal cord injury.

This research remains in its early stages - the study offers proof of principle and it is a long way off from becoming a human treatment. However, this research could guide future regenerative treatments for spinal cord injury.