Time for walkies! Pet dogs paralysed by spine damage are able to walk again following pioneering treatment

• One owner described her previously paralysed pet 'whizzing around the house' following the treatment
• Earlier tests proved the treatment on rats, but the new study is the first to prove it can be effective more than 12 months after an injury

By Nick Mcdermott and Damien Gayle
PUBLISHED: 01:35, 19 November 2012 | UPDATED: 10:39, 19 November 2012

Pet dogs left paralysed by spine damage have been able to walk again after a pioneering treatment.
Injecting cells taken from the dogs' nose into the injured part of their back helped regenerate the damaged done to their spine.
Following the treatment, the animals were able to move previously paralysed hind legs and coordinate movement with their front limbs.

Breakthrough: Pet dogs left paralysed by spine damage have been able to walk again after pioneering cell treatment. This image shows Jasper the dog at the start of a trial with his rear legs limp and unusable

One previously crippled dachshund, Jasper, was described by its owner 'whizzing around the house' after undergoing the treatment.
Earlier tests on paralysed rats showed they were able to move their hind legs just six weeks after being injected with these cells - known as olfactory ensheathing cells (OEC).
But this study was the first to be performed on animals that had suffered an accidental injury and with the treatment taking place at least 12 months after their spine was damaged.

 

Scientists say this far more closely resembles the scenario which would involve human patients, and believe the technique could soon offer hope to those with spinal injuries if used alongside other treatments.

Better: After six months of treatment, Jasper's legs are seen walking almost normally. The treatment involves injecting cells from the dogs' nose into the injured part of their back

Professor Robin Franklin, co-author of the study from the Wellcome Trust-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, said:

'Our findings are extremely exciting because they show for the first time that transplanting these types of cell into a severely damaged spinal cord can bring about significant improvement.'
But he warned patients and their loved ones not to expect too much from the approach.
'We're confident that the technique might be able to restore at least a small amount of movement in human patients with spinal cord injuries but that's a long way from saying they might be able to regain all lost function.
'It's more likely that this procedure might one day be used as part of a combination of treatments, alongside drug and physical therapies, for example.'
Professor Franklin emphasised to MailOnline that the cells used were not stem cells, but in fact differential cells. 'Differential cells are all the cells in the body which stem cells turn into,' he said.
In the study, published in the journal Brain, scientists looked at 34 pet dogs who had suffered severe spinal injuries, none of which could use their back legs to walk.
The group of dogs which were injected with the cells showed a considerable improvement, moving previously paralysed limbs.
Some also regained bowel and bladder control after the treatment. Many spinal injury patients rate a return to sexual function and continence as a higher prize than improved mobility.

Smiling again: Jasper is shown six months after the treatment walking on a treadmill without any aid. His owner says she now 'can't stop him whizzing round the house' and that he is able to keep up with other dogs

HOW THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED

Scientists studied 34 pet dogs that had all suffered spinal cord injuries as a result of accidents and back problems. None were injured deliberately for the sake of research.

A year or more after their injuries, the animals were unable to use their back legs to walk and incapable of feeling pain in their hindquarters.

Many of the dogs were dachshunds, which are especially prone to this type of injury. Unlike humans, dogs can suffer serious damage to their spinal cord just by having a slipped disc.

One group of dogs had OECs taken from the lining of their own noses and injected into the injury site. Another was only injected with the liquid in which the cells were suspended.

The trial was 'double blind', meaning that until the study ended neither the researchers nor the dog owners knew which animals had received the active treatment.

Dogs were tested for neurological function at one month intervals and had their walking ability assessed on a treadmill.

Significant improvement was seen in the dogs injected with OECs, but not those receiving the placebo treatment, according to the findings reported in the journal Brain.

OEC-treated dogs moved previously paralysed hind limbs and co-ordinated the movement with that of their front legs.

However, the researchers found that new nerve connections were only generated over short distances within the spinal cord.

Dr Rob Buckle, head of regenerative medicine at the Medical Research Council, which funded the study, said: 'This proof of concept study on pet dogs with the type of injury sustained by human spinal patients is tremendously important and an excellent basis for further research in an area where options for treatment are extremely limited.
'It's a great example of collaboration between veterinary and regenerative medicine researchers that has had an excellent outcome for the pet participants and potentially for human patients.'
Mrs May Hay, owner of Jasper, a daschund who took part in the trial, said: 'Before the trial, Jasper was unable to walk at all.
'When we took him out we used a sling for his back legs so that he could exercise the front ones. It was heartbreaking.
'But now we can't stop him whizzing round the house and he can even keep up with the two other dogs we own. It's utterly magic.'
Prof Geoffrey Raisman, chair of neural regeneration at University College London, said: 'This is not a cure for spinal cord injury in humans - that could still be a long way off. But this is the most encouraging advance for some years and is a significant step on the road towards it.
'This innovative process uses "olfactory ensheathing" cells taken from the dog's own nasal lining.
'Their purpose is specialised for the repair of nerve fibres in the nose, and by transplanting them to the spinal cord they can do the same repair work there.
'This shows convincingly that the beneficial effects previously reported in rodents can be produced in other species.
'That is encouraging for application in human injuries. But from a clinical perspective, the benefits are still limited at this stage.
'This procedure has enabled an injured dog to step with its hind legs, but the much harder range of higher functions lost in spinal cord injury - hand function, bladder function, temperature regulation, for example - are yet more complicated and still a long way away.'