Darek Fidyka

A 38 year-old Bulgarian man has become the first person to walk again after being paralyzed from the waist down, thanks to a new procedure using nerve-supporting cells from the inside of his nose.

The Guardian is reporting on the story of Darek Fidyka  who suffered a severed spinal cord in an accident four years ago that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Thanks to the new procedure, the sensation is returning to his lower limbs and he is now walking with a frame and even driving again.

Professor Geoffrey Raisman and his team at the University College London’s institute of Neurology discovered the technique which involved transplanting olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) from the nose to the spinal cord. These are the cells that assist in the repair of damaged nerves that transmit "smell messages" to the brain. When relocated to the spinal cord, they appear to enable the ends of severed nerve fibers to grow back together. Patients with a partial spinal injury have made recoveries, but the repair of a complete break, as was the case with Fidyka, was previously thought to be impossible.

“We believe that this procedure is the breakthrough which, as it is further developed, will result in a historic change in the currently hopeless outlook for people disabled by spinal cord injury,” Professor Raisman said.

“The patient is now able to move around the hips and on the left side he’s experienced considerable recovery of the leg muscles. He can get around with a walker and he’s been able to resume much of his original life, including driving a car. He’s not dancing, but he’s absolutely delighted.”

The surgery was performed by a Polish team led by one of the world’s top spinal repair experts, Dr Pawel Tabakow, from Wroclaw Medical University and was funded by the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation and the UK Stem Cell Foundation.

Raisman is hoping to raise enough funds to treat three other patients between the next three to five years and says the outlook for the future is bright.

“The number of patients who are completely paralyses is enormous," he said. "There are millions of them in the world. If we can convince the global neurosurgeon community that this works, then it will develop very rapidly indeed.”

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