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Article: Fetal Nerve Cells Transplanted To Spinal Cord; Doctors Try to Stabilize 43-Year-Old's Condition
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- July 13, 1997
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Doctors have transplanted fetal cell tissue in an attempt to
slow the progression of spinal cord damage in a paralyzed man, the
first time fetal cells have been used in this way in the United
States.
The transplant of nerve tissue from a human fetus into the
43-year-old Florida man was performed Friday at Shands Hospital.
The man suffers from a degenerative condition called
syringomyelia, characterized by the expansion of a fluid-containing
cavity within the damaged spinal cord. It can cause unbearable pain
and progressive loss of sensation and movement.
The man, who was not identified at the request of his family,
was in serious but stable condition after the operation, which took ...