Dr Alok Sharma Stem Cell Induced Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury Patients

Spinal Cord Injury is the damage of the spinal cord resulting from trauma (e.g: Road accidents) or disease or degeneration (eg: infections like transverse myelitis, cancers/tumours). It has a global incidence of 40 to 80 cases per million populations and up to 90% of these cases are due to traumatic causes. Injury to the spinal cord results in partial or complete loss of sensory function and/or motor function of arms, legs and/or body based on the level of the spinal cord that has been injured. It can also affect the systems that regulate bowel or bladder control and breathing.

Earlier the prognosis after spinal cord injury was very poor. However, it has improved due to better surgical and medical management techniques which have emerged in the acute phase of injury recently. Still, there is no gold standard for the treatment of Spinal Cord Injury. Most patients with spinal cord injury live the rest of their life with residual neurological deficits in the chronic phase of injury with limited mobility and function depending on family members even for daily activities. At the chronic stage, rehabilitation focusing on improving independence, treatment of spasticity and prevention of complications are the only focus in this devastating condition. Due to the limited ability of the central nervous system to replace the damaged/lost cells, restore disrupted myelin and re-establish functional neural connections, conventional treatments are not able to provide any further functional recovery. Dr Alok Sharma stem cell therapy has brought light into these patients. 

Dr Alok Sharma Stem cells are characterized by its ability of self-renewal and totipotency, which is the ability of a single cell to divide and produce all of the differentiated cells in an organism. Stem cells are a promising tool in the treatment of spinal cord injury due to their neuroregenerative and neuroprotective properties. In spinal cord injury patients, stem cells can reduce neuronal damage and inflammation, promote regeneration and do tissue repair at the site of injury, remyelination of the axons (propagating new cells to restore conduction in the nerve fibre) and helps in neuroprotection and formation of new blood vessels. Dr Alok Sharma at Neurogen Brain and Spine institute uses autologous bone marrow-derived cells (bone marrow taken from the patient’s own body) to promote functional recovery along with sensory and motor improvements. This is a very safe and effective method with no severe complications. 

Dr Alok Sharma Stem cell therapy followed by vigorous rehabilitation has shown significant improvements in various areas. This includes reducing spasticity, reducing postural hypotension which is the giddiness experienced by a bedridden patient while attaining an erect position, improving bodily sensations, improving bladder and bowel sensation and control, improving sitting balance, and standing balance, achieving better trunk stability, attaining better independence in daily activities and mobility. Mobility includes either being wheelchair independent or being able to walk with or without orthoses and assistive devices. Patients who are already able to walk with limitations can improve their balance and stability while walking.

In the study, ‘Detailed analysis of the clinical effects of cell therapy for thoracolumbar spinal cord injury: an original study, 2013’ which included 110 thoracolumbar spinal cord injury patients of NeuroGen, 91% had shown significant symptomatic, investigational, and functional improvement. 26% of cases showed reduction in spasticity, 28% achieved partial sensory recovery, trunk control improved in 96%, and postural hypotension reduced in 100%. Bladder management improved in 33% cases, 22% of wheelchair-bound cases started walking and 60% of patients whose activities of daily living were affected showed improvements. 

In another study ‘Role of Autologous Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells in Chronic Cervical Spinal Cord Injury-A Longterm Follow Up Study, 2013’ 56 patients of cervical spinal cord injury were included. 92.31% of patients showed improvement in trunk stability, 87.5% improved in sitting balance, trunk muscle strength improved in 77.78%, upper limb strength improved in 52%, 48.21% showed improvement in standing balance, 21.57% improved sensations, 20.59% in bladder sensation, 18.37% in spasticity and 14.29% in walking balance. Postural hypotension was reduced in all the patients.

In another study recently published article involving 180 subacute spinal cord injury patients of cervical, thoracic and lumbar level injuries showed significant improvement in Functional independence measure and WISCI ambulation scale. Patients showed symptomatic improvement in sitting/standing balance, bed mobility, trunk stability, upper limb function, mobility, sensation, bowel/bladder functions, and activities of daily living with no serious adverse events. This study was published in the International Journal of Health Sciences. 

These studies show how stem cell treatment by Dr Alok Sharma at NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute has helped spinal cord injury patients to achieve recovery and better functional independence. Where stem cells hold promise for spinal cord repair, rehabilitation also plays an important role in the recovery after stem cell therapy. Overall, in addition to standard treatment, patients can achieve a higher level of independence and a better quality of life after stem cell therapy.