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Food dye 'may ease spinal injury'

(BBC 28/07/2009)

A dye similar to that used in sweets may potentially minimise the severity of spinal cord injuries. A cascade of molecular changes triggered in the hours following an initial injury can cause further severe damage to the spinal cord. But US researchers found this can be halted by using a dye known as Brilliant Blue G (BBG). However, rats given the treatment in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study turned blue [early animal experiments].

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Father paralysed for 20 years may walk again thanks to dangerous stem cell therapy

(Daily Mail 24/02/2009)

A man who was told 20 years ago that a freak accident had left him paralysed from the chest down for life is hoping to walk again after pioneering stem cell surgery. Michael Flounders travelled to Ecuador for the risky operation in which stem cells from his bone marrow were implanted into his neck to try to repair the spinal cord. But within weeks he started to recover sensation in his legs.

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