Towards a cure for traumatic paraplegia--is there cause for hope?

In the past decade, great strides have been made in the field of CNS tissue repair and expectations have been raised that a cure of spinal paralysis is at hand. The two broad categories of investigational approaches to spinal regeneration are: (1) Enhancing the Regenerative Milieu of the Cord and (2) Cellular and Tissue Transplantation. Amongst the latter approaches, the early use of foetal cord tissue has given way to the more sophisticated studies on stem cell therapy and the implants of olfactory ensheating cells. These have engendered considerable public interest and are being offered as commercially available therapies in clinics round the world to desperate patients. The internet by allowing the dissemination of non-peer reviewed information of experimental interventions catalyses this process. Physicians must be informed of developments in this area to offer appropriate advice and counsel to their patients.