Leading Jewish neuroscientist helps paralysed man walk again
A Bulgarian man paralysed from the waist down in a stabbing attack is walking again thanks to treatment pioneered by leading Jewish neuroscientist.
Darek Fidyka is believed to be the first patient to recover from a complete severing of the spinal nerves. He suffered his injury in 2010 and has now regained sensation in his lower limbs and is able to walk with a frame.
Surgeons using methods grounded in the work of Professor Geoffrey Raisman, who used cells from Mr Fidyka’s nose to help regenerate the severed tissue.
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Raisman, head of the Institute of Neurology at University College London, said he believes the treatment “will result in a historic change in the currently hopeless outlook for people disabled by spinal cord injury.”
The grammar school-educated son of a Jewish tailor from Leeds, Raisman was persuaded by his father to read medicine after he was awarded a scholarship to Oxford University.
Research conducted by Raisman at Oxford showed for the first time that the brain and central nervous system have a capacity to regenerate following trauma.
Raisman told reporters that the patient is “able to resume much of his original life, including driving a car” and is “absolutely delighted.”
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By Brigit Grant
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By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)
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By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)
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By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)
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By Laurent Vaughan - Senior Associate (Bishop & Sewell Solicitors)