title: What is the potential of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells to successfully treat human spinal cord injury?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Spinal cord injury is a serious and debilitating condition, affecting millions of people worldwide. Long seen as a permanent injury, recent advances in stem cell research have brought closer the possibility of repairing the spinal cord. One such approach involves injecting oligodendrocyte progenitor cells, derived from human embryonic stem cells, into the injured spinal cord in the hope that they will initiate repair. A phase I clinical trial of this therapy was started in mid 2010 and is currently underway.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The theory underlying this approach is that these myelinating progenitors will phenotypically replace myelin lost during injury whilst helping to promote a repair environment in the lesion. However, the importance of demyelination in the pathogenesis of human spinal cord injury is a contentious issue and a body of literature suggests that it is only a minor factor in the overall injury process.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This review examines the validity of the theory underpinning the on-going clinical trial as well as analysing published data from animal models and finally discussing issues surrounding safety and purity in order to assess the potential of this approach to successfully treat acute human spinal cord injury.
authors.affiliation: Green Templeton College, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6HG, UK. robert.watson@gtc.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: Trevor M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Yeung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017321:Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic / Q000379:methods; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000637:transplantation*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000601:surgery*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*