Spina bifida trial: Stem cell therapy achieves 100% reversal of brain damage

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By Claudia Tanner

Stem cell therapy performed while babies are still in the uterus could help reverse brain abnormalities associated with spina bifida, according to new research from the University of California.

In a clinical trial involving six babies, surgeons performed foetal surgery to correct spinal defects. In addition to standard surgical repair, stem cells harvested from donated placentas were applied directly to the exposed spinal cord during the procedure.

All six infants presented with brain abnormalities prior to treatment. Post-natal MRI scans confirmed complete reversal of hindbrain herniation in every case, the research team reports.

Researchers are now hopeful that combining conventional surgical correction with regenerative cell therapy has the potential to alter the lifelong health of infants with the condition. They said the study – published in The Lancet – “establishes a scalable and clinically feasible platform for the targeted delivery of biological therapeutics to the fetus”.

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