A Louisiana group has announced that they have enrolled their first spinal cord injury patient for a clinical trial using the patient’s own adult stem cells for treatment. The first patient enrolled is a paralyzed Iraqi war veteran, Marine veteran Matt Cole, who was paralyzed from the chest down in a 2005 insurgent attack in Iraq.

The FDA-approved clinical trial will primarily assess the safety of the method, and secondarily evaluate if the treatment can provide functional improvements. TCA Cellular Therapy is the sponsor of the trial.

Note that this is still a clinical trial; a report of results is expected in 2012.

Adult stem cells from olfactory tissue have also been used to successfully treat spinal cord injury patients.

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