Cure spinal cord injury with stem cells from teeth

A group of Japanese scientists have successfully treated spinal cord injuries for a rat using special stem cells taken from human teeth.

The research team, led by Professor Minoru Ueda and Nagoya University Associate Professor Akihito Yamamoto, found stem cells in the pulp of babies and wisdom teeth that could grow into masses. Different types of cells, including nerves.

They implanted these versatile cells in 10 mice with hind legs that could not move due to spinal cord injury. Only about a month later, all of their legs could move. Even some animals have recovered their mobility as usual.

The team says everyone has root canal cells and can easily extract. These cells are extremely safe and can be applied in practice.

According to Professor Ueda, Nagoya University often helps to collect about 5,000 wisdom teeth per year. They can make medicine from these teeth in the future.

So far, there is no effective method to treat spinal cord injuries. It is hoped to produce drugs that regenerate stem cells from fertilized eggs (ES) and pluripotent stem cells (iPS).

However, some experts believe that ES and iPS cells can cause ethical problems and risk cancer.