Neuralstem announced that a clinical safety trial will begin this year on the practice of injecting stem cells directly into the injury site in spinal cord injury patients, according to a CNN Health report.
The company said that it received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its clinical trial protocol, which has also been approved by the University of California, San Diego's Institutional Review Board.
In the trail, stem cells will be injected into patients' spines. The trial aims at showing that the use of stem cells for is safe for the treatment of spinal cord injuries. Researchers also hope to prove benefits of stem cell use.
The first eight patients enrolled will be paraplegics who had a thoracic spinal cord injury one to two years ago and have no motor or sensory function below the point of their injury, according to the report.
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