"Neuroscientists and surgeons successfully grafted human neural progenitor cells into rhesus monkeys with spinal cord injuries. The grafts not only survived, but grew hundreds of thousands of human axons and synapses, resulting in improved forelimb function in the monkeys. These findings represent a major and essential step toward future human clinical trials."

"The 21-year-old who suffered a cervical spine injury in March gains significant improvement in his motor function at Keck Hospital of USC."

"Stem cells of the apical papilla (SCAP) represent great promise regarding treatment of neural tissue damage, such as spinal cord injury."

"Brandon Lyons and Thomas Mundis have never met, but they have something in common: both are fighting to get back on their feet. Both were paralyzed and both were picked to be part of a stem cell clinical trial at UC San Diego. Doctors are implanting stem cells directly on the injury site on the spinal cord. This is the first time it is being done in the United States and only four people were picked."

"“Each patient that is enrolled in the study will receive human derived stem cells and they will receive a direct injection of these into the area of their spinal cord injury,” said Dr. Joseph Ciacci, neurosurgeon, UC San Diego Health System."

"A small number of paraplegics are now able to feel some sensation after having neural stem cells transplanted into their damaged spinal cords as part of a study, raising hope that the therapy may help restore movement in some paralyzed patients."

"A 26-year-old woman paralyzed after a motor vehicle accident a year ago has successfully undergone a first-in-human experimental procedure to test whether neural stem cells injected at the site of a spinal cord injury is safe and could be an effective treatment."