Long gone are the days of people being fearful of innovation and writing off any medical advance as “witchcraft”. However, it is hard not to believe in magic – and science – when doctors and scientists are making incredible discoveries that help patients improve their life quality and even make “miraculous” recoveries. Chris Barr is one of those lucky people who, thanks to science, is able to walk again after a severe spinal cord injury.
Seven years ago, Chris Barr’s life changed forever. While surfing, he fell and severely injured his back.
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Seven years ago, Chris Barr was having a regular day, just like a hundred other days gone by. The avid surfer was catching waves at a local beach until something went terribly wrong. One wave was particularly dangerous and threw Chris off the board. Soon, he realized that he was injured and the solemn expression on his doctors’ faces told him the news was going to be hard to swallow.
At the hospital, Chris learned about his life altering diagnosis – he was paralyzed from the neck down. But Chris was determined to fight and believed that one day he will be able to regain some control of his body. However, even in his wildest dreams, he never imagined just how advanced his recovery will be and that he will be walking again thanks to an innovative stem cell treatment.
"I never dreamed I would have a recovery like this," Chris shared his delight. "I can feed myself. I can walk around. I can do day-to-day independent activities."
Image credits: ABC News
Image credits: ABC News
At the hospital, he learned that he was paralyzed from the neck down and was even on a ventilator
Image credits: ABC News
Chris was the first patient in the Mayo Clinic study. It consisted of collecting stem cells from his own stomach fat and expanding them in the laboratory to 100 million cells. After that, the cells were injected into Chris’ lumbar spine. The treatment continued for over five years during which Chris saw a significant improvement in his quality of life, gaining more and more independence with each injection.
Mr. Barr’s recovery story was published in the Nature Communications journal, as part of the research on the effects of stem cells in spinal cord injuries. The study claims that out of ten patients participating in the trial, seven saw positive effects in recovery from their injuries. The patients expressed that they have noticed increased strength in muscle motor groups and increased sensation to pinpricks and light touch. Each patient moved at least one level on the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale. The scale has five levels detailing a patient's ability to function. The other three patients, sadly, showed no improvement but they did not get worse.
"These findings give us hope for the future," Dr. Mohamad Bydon, a neurosurgeon and the lead author of the study shared. The doctor, who is the director of The Christopher Reeve foundation, has dedicated his life’s work to curing spinal cord injuries, and is very hopeful of this trial's future.
Luckily, Chris was able to participate in a study which involves stem cell treatment
Image credits: ABC News
Image credits: ABC News
Stem cells would be harvested from the patient’s stomach and then expanded, after which they would be injected into the patient’s lumbar spine
Image credits: ABC News
Image credits: ABC News
The participants ranged from 18 to 65, all spinal injuries were either from the neck or back down. They all had their stem cells harvested from the stomach. Patient 1, Chris, had the most remarkable recovery of them all.
At the beginning of the study, Chris was on a ventilator, completely immobile. As the study progressed, he started using a harness and then even started taking some steps on his own. Besides stem cell treatment, Chris was doing hard work with his physiotherapist.
“We waited, we didn’t intervene right away, as many studies in this space do,” the doctor noted. “The earliest we treated anyone was seven months after their injury and the latest was 22 months.” The researchers wanted to give the body time to try and recover on its own.
Out of 10 participants in the study, 7 showed improvement, however, none of them were as remarkable as Chris’
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The lead author of the study, Dr. Bydon hopes that this study will help people to learn more about stem cell behavior
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What once seemed like a miracle is now possible thanks to the hard work of doctors and researchers
Image credits: ABC News
Despite the incredible findings, the road to this new treatment being approved is still a long way away, as there needs to be more research done so doctors could understand how stem cells operate. To us, it might seem like magic or a miracle but for doctors, it means long years of trial and error, hoping that in their lifetime they will be able to help those in need.
“Patients are always looking for a cure. We’re not there today, but we have to continue this research in order to get there,” Dr. Bydon pondered.
The second part of the study, involving more patients, is now underway, giving hope to those who have heard the horrible words, “You’ll never walk again”. Hopefully, in a few years, those people will take their first steps yet again and say, “Take that, bad luck!”
As for Chris, he is delighted that he was able to be a part of this groundbreaking study. He might never surf again but at least he is able to take longer and longer walks without any assistance.
"I’m just thrilled that there are people taking bold steps to try and do research to cure this. It’s been a wild ride and it’s not over yet."
What do you think of this? Do you think stem cell therapy is the future or does this sound like science fiction to you?
People in the comments were praising both Chris and his doctor for such an amazing achievement
