The first patient to receive a human embryonic stem-cell treatment for paralysis from a spinal-cord injury says he has regained some feeling in his legs.
Timothy Atchison of Alabama, 21, partially paralyzed in a Sept. 25 car crash, told the Washington Post that he's begun to feel slight sensation where there was no sensation before -- for example, a sense of relief when a bowling ball is lifted from his lap, or discomfort when he pulls on hairs on his legs.
While the report is anecdotal and is not scientifically verified, Hans Keirstead, the UC Irvine stem-cell researcher who invented the treatment used on Atchison, said he was nevertheless thrilled by the news.
"It's an extraordinarily exciting outcome," Keirstead said. "One that is very hopeful for the treatment."
But Keirstead cautioned that it is far too early in the treatment's clinical trial to draw conclusions about its effectiveness.
"His impressions are not going to have a bearing on the outcome of the trial," Keirstead said.
Keirstead is not involved in the trial and has not spoken to Atchison.
The young nursing student was the first patient to be injected with stem cells in the world's first clinical trial of a human embryonic stem-cell treatment.
The treatment is for acute spinal cord injuries, so the treatment must take place within 14 days of the injury. It involves injection of neural cells derived from human embryonic stem cells; those are taken from embryos otherwise destined to be discarded by fertility clinics, but the treatment still generates controversy among those opposed to use of such cells.
The trial is being conducted by Geron Corp. at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Ga., one of seven potential sites around the country where the clinical trial will be held.
Patient identities are secret, but Atchison came forward to speak to the Post.
The first stem-cell trial is, in keeping with normal practice, focused on testing the safety of the procedure and patient tolerance.
The treatment's effectiveness will be evaluated in a future trial.
"I'm an eternal optimist," Keirstead said. "I absolutely expect individuals in the phase 1 clinical trial to provide anecdotal evidence that the treatment might have some benefit.
"You have to understand, I'm extremely biased: I developed it. When I put my scientific hat on, I try to disregard as best I can this anecdotal evidence, and wait patiently for the formal outcomes of the clinical trial."
Those outcomes won't be known, he said, until two years after the last patient is treated.
