New Cell Therapy Strategy for Treatment of Spinal Cord Injuries

Cell therapy strategy for spinal cord injuries and regenerative diseases.


Invention Summary:

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are damages to the spinal cord neural tissues that cause sensory loss and motor paralysis. SCI patients have no options for curative therapy. Thus, a mild contusion to the spinal cord results in massive neuronal and glial cell loss, demyelination, cavitation and glial scarring, resulting in detrimental functional effects, including loss of sensory perception, distal motor paralysis and severe functional impairment.  There is a need for an effective therapy that enhances axonal sparing, remyelination and possibly supports neural regeneration.

Rutgers scientists have developed a new closed-system cell therapy medical device and treatment strategy that was successful in clinical trials in restoring sensory and motor functions in chronic SCI patients and could be used for SCI therapy. This invention aims to fill the need for restorative therapies for SCI by cell and exosome transplantation via a minimally invasive outpatient procedure. This therapeutic strategy showed no cell therapy-related side effects when examined in SCI patients in phase I/II clinical trials and is more potent because of the use of proprietary matrices in the cell isolation medical device. The propriety medical device is used for isolating and preparing the restorative cells and their exosomes bearing the unsurpassed regenerative powers which can be employed for the novel cell therapy strategy and in other regenerative medicine indications.


Advantages:

  • SCI patients treated with this technology exhibited motor and sensory functional improvements
  • The new medical device is a cost-effective device that can be used in outpatient procedures
  • No cell therapy-related side effects
  • Patients can achieve a catheter-free life
  • Restoration of many sensory functions
  • At least partial restoration of mobility
  • Improves quality of life of SCI patients

Market Applications:

  • Treatment of spinal cord injuries
  • All other regenerative medicine applications

Intellectual Property & Development Status:

Multiple issued patents. Available for licensing and/or research collaboration.

Patent Information:
Contact:
Shemaila Sultana
Assistant Director
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
848-932-4542
shemaila.sultana@rutgers.edu
Keywords:
Spinal Cord
Stem Cells