A stem cell therapy designed to repair damaged nerve pathways is moving closer to clinical testing for people with chronic spinal cord injury, according to a July 13 Inside Precision Medicine report on research presented at the International Society for Stem Cell Research 2026 Annual Meeting.
Researchers at Keio University in Tokyo plan to begin a physician-initiated clinical trial in 2027 involving patients with chronic, incomplete spinal cord injuries. The study will evaluate gliogenic neural stem/progenitor cells, which are designed to restore myelin around surviving nerve fibers rather than regenerate entirely new neural circuits.
The program builds on an earlier first-in-human study in four patients with subacute spinal cord injury. One-year follow-up results, announced in 2025, found no serious treatment-related adverse events and neurological improvements in two participants, including one who regained the ability to stand independently and begin gait training. The findings have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
In the latest preclinical research, the stem cells promoted behavioral recovery in animal models of chronic spinal cord injury without evidence of tumor-like tissue formation. The findings support advancing the therapy into clinical testing for chronic injury, according to the report.
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